Home prices in Shanghai are expected to fall slowly rather than sharply following the government's fresh austerity measures, according to real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle.
The city's housing prices will come down less than 5 per cent this year because major developers are not under pressure to reduce prices.
'Developers have either come close to meeting full-year sales targets or are on track to meet the targets,' said Anthony Couse, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle Shanghai. 'They are not necessarily under pressure to lower prices.'
He said transaction volumes would be relatively low until the end of the year.
During the week-long National Day holiday from October 1, the Shanghai government unveiled a series of new policies to curb soaring home prices, in line with Beijing's directives. A household in Shanghai can now buy only one new or second-hand apartment, for instance.
Shanghai mayor Han Zheng said over the weekend that the city government would continue to cool the market to protect people's interests.
It has been suggested that Shanghai may start imposing a property tax next year in a move to curb prices. Local media have reported that Shanghai is poised to spearhead moves across the mainland to implement property taxes.
