Nearly 140,000 units of used properties, mainly residential but also including office and retail spaces, were sold in Shanghai in the first half of this year, exceeding last year's total, according to research by Century 21 China Real Estate.

Between January and June, the transaction volume of second-hand real estate reached 138,400 units, an increase of 9.3 percent compared to last year's total.

Last month alone, some 31,300 units were sold across the city at an average price of 12,400 yuan (US$1,815) per square meter, up 4.8 percent month-on-month and 25 percent year-on-year. Of that, 28,900 units were used homes, Century 21 said.

"Easing of credit, coupled with a recuperation of the country's stock market, helped the city's second-hand property market further extend its rally in June," said Zhang Weiping, general manager of Century 21 China Real Estate's Shanghai operation. "However, the nearly 20-percent increase in average property price over the past six months might have some negative impact on the transaction volume in the second half."

The city's second-hand real estate market started to recoup its strength in February in both volume and price, Century 21 statistics showed.

Across the city, Pudong, Hongkou, Xuhui and Changning all registered a more than 20-percent increase in volume last month, followed by Jing'an and Huangpu, which each secured more than 10-percent month-on-month growth.

Meanwhile, the city's residential renting market also gained some strength last month.

Renting deals rose 7.8 percent last month at Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Ltd with Pudong, Putuo and Baoshan taking more than half of the total.

Average rents, however, dropped 8.4 percent from May to 3,284 yuan per square meter after demand for mid to low-class houses rose.

Homes with a monthly rent of below 3,000 yuan accounted for 65 percent of the total deals, up 8 percentage points from May, according to Centaline's figures.

(Shanghai Daily July 8, 2009)