Homebuyers rush to make deals before tightening policies take effect

There was a 20.68 percent increase in residential property transactions in Shanghai for the week ended on March 10 compared with the previous week, as self-use homebuyers are speeding up acquisitions.

Last week, 312,000 square meters of gross floor area of residential space were traded in Shanghai, up 20.68 percent week-on-week, but the average transaction price declined 20.17 percent week-on-week to 20,477 yuan per sq m, data from a property research center jointly run by Shanghai Jinfeng Investment Co Ltd and Uwin Real Estate Research Center showed on Monday.

The transaction volume of newly built residential property in Shanghai reached a 36-week high amid soaring demand from self-use homebuyers, according to figures from Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co, a Shanghai-based real estate agency. The top three residential projects with the largest transaction volumes are all priced at 15,000 yuan per sq m on average.

Analysts said the surge in trade volume is a result of the central government’s latest property tightening policy, which will levy a 20 percent income tax on the sales of pre-owned homes.

The property market will see a transaction boom before the tightening policies by local governments are in force, said Huang Hetao, an analyst from the Shanghai research center of Century 21 China Real Estate, a United States-listed real estate services provider based in Beijing. However, the transaction fever may hit future demand and undermine market confidence in the long term.