Nearly130 exhibitors, including leading Chinese developers such as China Vanke, Poly Real Estate and Gemdale, may showcase more than 200 real estate projects at an upcoming property fair in Shanghai, a four-day event held during the May Day holiday, its organizers said yesterday.

That would represent a significant rise from March when the annual Shanghai Spring Real Estate Exhibition, the first major property fair held in the city this year, drew only 45 local developers and 60 projects.

"The city's housing market may likely see some notable signs of recovery as early as in May if more developers are releasing more projects after staying cautious for some time," said Sky Xue, an analyst with China Real Estate Information Corp. "While some developers are suffering from increased capital pressure over the past few months amid sluggish sales and tightened bank credit, the majority of them seem confident about the market and are not yet forced to cut prices significantly, say 10 percent or more, in a bid to trigger sales."

Developers with abundant capital are adopting aggressive methods to expand business.

LL Land Holding, one of the earliest overseas real estate developers on the Chinese mainland, has said it will accelerate its pace of expansion in Shanghai and neighboring cities over the next two years.

The developer, whose portfolio includes Mandarin City, a high-end residential project in western Hongqiao area, and Nanzheng Building, a Grade A office tower on Nanjing Road W., said it will build more houses in second- and third-tier cities while seeking more opportunities for commercial projects in Shanghai.

On Tuesday, SOHO China, a Beijing-based developer, clinched its second purchase in Shanghai this month by buying a 28,103-square-meter land plot in Hongkou District for 2.47 billion yuan (US$378 million).

By the end of April, sales of new homes, excluding those built under affordable housing programs, may exceed 700,000 square meters, versus 414,000 square meters sold in March, analysts predicted.

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