Sales of pre-owned homes fall in Shanghai
Date：2016/12/22
By Cherry Cao | December 22, 2016, Thursday
[Shanghai Daily] SALES of pre-occupied homes continued to fall in Shanghai last month amid cooling sentiment among buyers hit by the impact of the city’s tightening measures on the property market.
Around 18,000 units of pre-owned houses changed hands in November, a month-on-month drop of 21.7 percent, according to data compiled by Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Co.
“A wait-and-see sentiment seemed prevalent among home seekers as inquiries continued to shrink,” said Lu Wenxi, a senior manager of research at Centaline.
Meanwhile “the majority of home owners would still hold onto their original asking prices and felt rather reluctant to offer discounts to attract buyers,” Lu said.
Shanghai unveiled its latest round of tightening measures to cool the city’s overheated housing market and curb speculation on November 28, following previous efforts launched in March and October.
Considered the toughest of its kind ever introduced in the city by industry analysts, the new measures, which cut the number of first-time buyers who are eligible for a minimum down payment of 35 percent, have dealt a quick blow to the market as new listings of pre-owned homes fell sharply in the week following the government notice, Centaline data showed.
Shanghai’s existing housing index, which tracks monthly price changes in 130 areas, rose 0.19 percent from October to 4,004 in November, the Shanghai Existing House Index Office said earlier. It was slower than October’s 1.71 percent gain.
Prices of pre-owned homes rose in 81 areas from a month earlier while they fell in 32 areas and were flat in the remaining 17 areas, the office said.