DEALS involving major real estate acquisitions are set to fall 20 percent to 20 billion yuan (US$3 billion) in Shanghai this year, with office buildings favored the most by investors, a property services provider said yesterday.

In 2009 such deals totaled 25 billion yuan, according to a latest research completed by DTZ.

Grade A office buildings continued to be the most attractive to investors, accounting for 34 percent of the city's total transaction value, followed by residential at 30 percent and retail properties at 27 percent.

"Generally speaking, the city's property investment market is pretty good this year and what is particularly notable is that investment sentiment among overseas buyers rebounded significantly from a year earlier," said Jim Yip, co-head of DTZ China Investment. "Despite the 20-percent decrease in value, it would still be around the average amount recorded over the past few years."

So far this year, overseas investors have completed around 57 percent of en-bloc deals with domestic buyers accounting for the remainder. By contrast, Chinese buyers dominated Shanghai's property acquisition market in 2009 with a lion's share of 86 percent, according to DTZ data.

For 2011, DTZ predicted an active real estate investment market in the city, with Grade A offices, retail and high-end residential projects favored by most investors.