New homes sales rise sharply in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
Strong growth recorded in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou but rising prices could stall demand
Sales in major mainland cities soared this month as buyers who were waiting on the sidelines for further government measures to curb price rises gave in and entered the market.
Data from Centaline Property Agency showed sales of new homes in Guangzhou jumped 40 per cent to 8,514 in the first three weeks of September, compared with 6,066 deals recorded during the same period in August. The total value of the sales, however, rose by a slower 25 per cent to 14.52 billion yuan (HK$18.32 billion).
"Sales in Shanghai have also increased significantly this month," said Clement Luk, Chief Executive at Centaline (China) for Eastern and Northeastern China.
"In particular we saw a strong rise in the sales of luxury flats in Shanghai, which suggests the high-income groups and investors believe the central government will not release new measures to control price rises." He added developers had been paying record-high prices for land in recent months.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday from September 19 to 21 some 3,400 new flats were released for sale, said Centaline, and 70 per cent of the flats were sold on the first day.
At Country Garden Phoenix City in Guangzhou, 773 flats were released for sale at prices that averaged about 12,000 yuan per square metre and 657 flats were sold on the first day.