MORE real estate developers are offering price cuts in Shanghai this month in a hopeful bid to trigger sales among home seekers as the near-term outlook for an easing in tough housing measures is dim, according to a latest industry research.

Discounts will be offered at about 205 residential projects, including apartment and villa developments, in March, up from 192 projects in February, Soufun.com, operator of the country's largest real estate website, said yesterday.

The Pudong New Area will continue to lead all other districts with 37 developments offering discounts, followed by 30 projects in Songjiang District and 26 in Qingpu District.

"Since last December, the number of housing projects in the city offering price cuts and promotions has been hovering around 200, compared with an average of 134 developments during the first 11 months of 2011," said Qu Peng, a Soufun analyst.

"More developers are pinning their hopes on the next few months to improve their sales amid a gradual recovery in buying 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 - the highest in about two months - mainly boosted by transactions of low to mid-end apartments where a minimum 10 percent price cut was offered, Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co said earlier in its weekly report.

A few developments in Baoshan District have confirmed cuts of 20 percent were offered, Soufun said.