Shanghai property investments climb 19 pct in H1

Major real estate investments in Shanghai rose nearly 19 percent in the first half of this year, with overseas buyers sealing more than 60 percent of the deals, a global real estate services firm said yesterday.

Between January and June, 15.2 billion yuan ($2.46 billion) of property acquisitions worth more than US$10 million each were sealed in the city, up 18.7 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to DTZ, a division of UGL Ltd.

òOverseas buyers dominated the market in the first six months of this year as they sealed 66 percent of the total deals, a significant rise from 22 percent registered in the same period a year earlier,ó said Jim Yip, co-head of DTZ China Investment. òThe office segment still remained the most popular real estate type among investors, accounting for 59 percent of the total property investment during the six-month period.ó

Retail property investments took a 36 percent share in the first six months, up from 11 percent in the same period a year earlier, DTZ said.