PURCHASES of new homes in Shanghai rose to their highest level in 10 months in March.

Sales of new homes, excluding government-funded affordable housing, nearly doubled to 799,000 square meters in March, the highest since June 2011, according to real estate website Soufun.com.

"Across the city, northern Baoshan District saw the most robust sales last month, snapping more than one fifth of total transactions," said Tang Zhengwei, a Soufun analyst. "Improved sales in mid to high-end developments, meanwhile, helped push up the average price from a month earlier."

New homes were selling at an average of 22,138 yuan (US$3,519) per square meter, an increase of 11.7 percent from February.

Nearly 50,000 square meters of luxury properties, at more than 50,000 yuan per square meter, were sold in Shanghai last month, compared with around 13,000 square meters in February.

Huang Zhijian, chief analyst at Shanghai Uwin Real Estate Information Services Co, said: "Hopefully, the market will continue to pick up its strength this month if developers keep adopting the 'price-for-volume' strategy."

A Poly Real Estate project in Baoshan remained the best-selling development with 386 units selling after price cuts of nearly 4,000 yuan per square meter.

Source:shanghaidaily.com