MORE property developers have cut prices at their residential projects in Shanghai in the first quarter of this year as they try to trim their inventories since the central government has not signaled any easing of property curbs.

An average of 202 residential projects gave discounts each month between January and March, an annual surge of 65 percent, according to a research released yesterday by Soufun.com, which runs the country's largest real estate website.

The research found that 80 percent of the price cuts were in projects located beyond the Outer Ring Road while the Pudong New Area topped all districts by project numbers.

"Potential clients of residential projects in outlying areas are mainly first-time buyers with limited budgets who are less likely to be affected by the home purchase restrictions," said Qu Peng, a Soufun analyst. "On the contrary, developments in more central parts of the city seemed reluctant to cut their prices because the majority of their target customers, less sensitive to price, may have been banned from making additional purchases."

The trend to cut prices will continue next month when 212 housing projects across the city will offer discounts, up 77 percent from April 2011.

The cuts fueled the buying of new homes to nearly 600,000 square meters in Shanghai in the first 25 days of this month, up from 403,000 square meters in February, Soufun said.

Source:shanghaidaily.com