MORE real estate developers will offer price cuts in Shanghai this March in an obvious move to trigger buying sentiment among home seekers as no signs of policy loosening can be anticipated at least in the near term, the latest industry research has found.

Discounts will be available at around 205 residential projects, including both apartment and villa developments, across the city in March, compared to 192 projects in February, according to Soufun.com, operator of the country's largest real estate website.

Pudong New Area, due to its expansive size, will continue to lead the market with 37 developments introducing discounts, immediately followed by Songjiang District, 30, and Qingpu District, 26.

"Since last December, the number of housing projects offering cuts and promotions has been hovering around 200 in the city, compared to an average of 134 developments available during the first 11 months of 2011," said Qu Peng, a Soufun analyst. "More developers are pinning their hopes on the upcoming few months for improved sales performances amid gradually-recovering market momentum since the end of the Spring Festival holiday."

Purchases of new homes, excluding government-funded affordable housing, rose for the fourth straight week to 140,400 square meters last week, or the highest in about two months, mainly boosted by deals involving mid- to low-end apartments where a minimum 10 percent price cut was available, Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co said earlier in its weekly report.