THE value of Shanghai's en-bloc property acquisitions exceeded US$1.3 billion in the first half of this year, coming close to the total for all of last year.
Residential and office properties were the two most sought-after types of entire-building deal, Colliers International reported yesterday.
"This is significant growth as the en-bloc acquisition amount for the entire 2006 was US$1.9 billion, according to our statistics," said Mac Chan, senior manager of research and consultancy at the real estate services firm.
Among all en-bloc investment deals concluded in Shanghai in the first half, 38 percent involved residential developments, followed by 32 percent tied to mixed-use properties, 17 percent to office space and 13 percent to industrial assets.
In comparison, for all of 2006, office properties accounted for a dominant 61 percent of en-bloc transactions concluded in the city while the residential segment came in at 31 percent and retail eight percent, the company said.
Overseas investors showed great interest in acquiring high-end residential assets in the first half of this year when five major deals were secured, the Colliers report found.
Morgan Stanley, for instance, purchased two blocks involving 219 units in Novel City in the Xujiahui area in January, and Indonesia's Salim Group acquired a residential project in downtown Laoximen in April that has a gross floor area of 200,000 square meters.
In line with the transaction activity, capital values for luxury properties rose 2.7 percent in the first half, and rents increased 2.9 percent to US$21.70 per square meter per month, the report said.