Sales of high-end pre-owned houses in Shanghai will be quiet while more transactions will be seen in leasing after the central government's latest regulatory measures were enacted on June 1, market observers said Thursday.

 

City Integrated Residential Services, a real estate agency that focuses on the high-end residential market, said there have been few transactions reported from its 18 outlets across the city since May 29 when the central government unveiled new tax and credit policies to cool surging housing prices.

 

Taking One Park Avenue on Changde Road in Jing'an District as an example, transactions during the week from May 29 to June 4 dropped 20 percent from a week ago, according to Frank Fei, an official with City Integrated.

 

The central government made it more expensive to sell a home from June 1 by imposing a 5.5 percent tax on the total sales price of the property bought within five years, up from the current two years.

 

The city's luxury residences, defined as costing a minimum price of 20,000 yuan (US$2,466) per square meter, have seen robust sales since 2004 thanks to strong demand.

 

Increasing numbers of expatriate executives relocating to the city chose to use their monthly rental allowance to fund apartment purchases.

 

"The Shanghai residential market has been relatively quiet with transaction volumes down since measures were enacted in June 2005. We expect the new measure (this time) to prolong this quiet period," said Michael Hart, head of Research China (North), Jones Lang LaSalle.

 

Meanwhile, leasing has seen more transactions since the new polices were announced as some owners delayed their sale of the apartments and instead put them up for lease.

 

"While a small portion of speculators, under cash flow pressure, have cut quoted prices by 5 percent for a quick sale, most sellers chose to hold the property at this stage," Fei said.

 

The supply of apartments for lease rose 29 percent during the week after the new polices were announced, he said.

 

"But the rental will not drop because of the increased supply as there is also a significant portion of potential buyers who want to hold their purchases for a while and rent an apartment first," Fei added.

 

The rent for a double-bedroom apartment in One Park Avenue has remained the same as that of last month at 10,000 yuan while a three-bedroom apartment ranges from 14,000 yuan to 16,000 yuan a month in rent. 

 

(Shanghai Daily June 9, 2006)