Dramatic increase seen in mid-priced units
Sales of new homes in Shanghai in December rose 37.6 percent year-on-year to more than 1.88 million square meters, according to a report posted on the website of the Shanghai municipal government on Sunday.
The figure was up 26.2 percent month-on-month, and it also represented the highest monthly figure since 2009.
Transactions in the medium-priced segment increased dramatically, the report said. In December, sales of new homes costing less than 25,000 yuan ($3,843) per square meter were up 24.6 percent month-on-month to about 804,000 square meters, said the report.
Among the top 10 properties in terms of trading volume, about half were sold at prices ranging from 30,000 yuan per square meter to 50,000 yuan in 2015, the report said, noting that most of the demand was from middle-class buyers.
The average price of new homes in Shanghai stood at 33,562 yuan per square meter in December, down 3.6 percent month-on-month, said the report.
"The good housing sales in 2015 were mainly driven by the government's efforts to stimulate demand," Liu Yuan, a senior research manager at Centaline Group in Shanghai, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Facing a weak housing market amid an economic downturn, the central bank cut benchmark interest rates and reduced banks' reserve requirement ratio several times, Liu said, noting that China had also lowered down payment requirements for second-home buyers.
In December, several sites were auctioned at high prices in Shanghai, with some exceeding the market prices of their neighboring properties, which helped improve market sentiment, the report from the government's website said.
Liu predicted that housing prices will continue to rise in a steady manner in first-tier cities like Shanghai in 2016, although most cities are still facing high inventories.
President Xi Jinping said in November that China needs to solve the housing inventory problem and ensure the sound development of the property market.
"In order to the solve the problem of the supply glut in the country, the central government is expected to provide more policy support to the housing market in 2016, including reducing down payment requirements and tax rebates for homebuyers," Xue Jianxiong, a property industry expert and president of Youtaocheng Co, a real estate agency, told the Global Times on Sunday.
Xue predicted that China's property market would rebound gradually in 2016 under more supportive policies.
