Shanghai’s luxury property market thrives while downturn persists in mass housing segment

Investors are snapping up luxury homes in Shanghai in the 30 million yuan (US$4.2 million) plus range, as they expect super expensive homes in China’s commercial and financial hub to continue to buck the overall downward trend in the real estate market, according to market observers.

But the rosy performance of this segment alone was not enough to bail out the city’s embattled property sector and the wider industry, they added.

“Frenetic buying of flats in Kerry’s new project adds to the evidence that Shanghai and its land remained attractive to cash-rich people,” said Zhu Xinhai, a sales manager with Shanghai-based 5i5j Real Estate Brokerage. “But most middle and low-income residents are still wary of the property market outlook despite strong housing demand.”

Earlier this month, 158 units at Jinling Residence, priced from 40 million yuan to 170 million yuan, were snapped up within 24 hours, bringing in more than 9.2 billion yuan for the Hong Kong-listed developer.