Weak sentiment dampens sales of Shanghai new houses
New home sales fell for the second straight month in Shanghai in August amid weak sentiment.
The sales of new homes, excluding government-funded affordable housing, fell 6.7 percent from July to 654,000 square meters, the lowest volume in three months, Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co said in a report released yesterday.
“Despite a cooler-than-expected weather in August, most homeseekers continued to take a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude as they hope for significant price cuts by developers,” said Lu Qilin, a Deovolente researcher.
But few developers have offered attractive discounts — a major reason for the sluggish sales, Lu said.
The average cost of a new home fell 0.3 percent from July to 26,290 yuan (US$4,276) per square meter.