Housing Prices Not likely to Rise in Shanghai: ExpertsReal estate experts believe that housing prices are not likely to hike in this municipality in the near future.The prediction came amid a recent spate of home buying by the local residents, who are leery of a price rise in the near future. Statistics from local real estate trading center said that the average purchase price of pre-sold homes in Shanghai picked up 123 yuan per square meter from the first quarter to reach 4,173 yuan per square meter in the second quarter. Experts gave several reasons for this. First, the total area of scheduled pre-sold homes is 7.58 million square meters, lower than the real purchasing capacity of 9.5 million square meters by local residents. The unexpected high demand of home buying has pushed the price higher. Second, construction costs became higher because of consumers' increasing demand for better quality, surroundings and hi-tech design features. Third, starting this August, the selling of housing to local residents becomes synchronous with the selling of houses to other residents. The "comparison effect" may have pushed the price higher. However, experts didn't rule out the possibility of existing illegal price maneuvering by some profit-driven real estate developers. They cautioned consumers against suspiciously high- priced deals. A recent survey shows that residents in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and other major cities in China are very enthusiastic about buying their own homes. Seventy percent of Shanghai residents expressed their desire to buy a new home in the near future. Experts noted that there soon may be some fluctuation in the housing prices in different residential districts and from floor to floor in individual buildings, so it is wise for buyers to be on guard for such practices. |
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