Prices and sales activity in the mass housing market in Sanya on the southern shores of Hainan Island have bucked the trend of declining deal volumes and prices in many mainland cities.
Last month, home prices in Sanya grew 12.4 per cent compared with the same month a year earlier, while prices in other southern cities on the mainland such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou either showed a decline or remained unchanged, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. In the first six months of the year, deal volumes saw 691,100 square metres of residential space transacted, up 18 per cent from the same period last year, according to Sanya government figures, which also showed that 734,900 square metres of residential space was offered for pre-sale over the first-half period, up 56 per cent from that of last year.
By comparison Shenzhen home prices last month fell 0.4 per cent compared to a year earlier, while Guangzhou prices rose just 1.1 per cent compared with the six-month period in 2007.
According to Sanya Property Administrative Bureau data, 7,763 units were sold in the city in the first six months with 89 per cent of buyers being non-Sanya residents, who were attracted by the tropical weather with some buying for retirement purposes.
Six in 10 of the units sold or 4,773 units were flats sized 90 sq metres or below.
