Shanghai property investment down 14% in H1

Investment in Shanghai's real estate market in the first six months slumped 14 percent year on year but the downturn is set to accelerate in the second half, property services provider DTZ said yesterday.

The transaction value of all major real estate deals — those worth at least US$10 million — in the January to June period was US$15.7 billion, down from US$18.3 billion in the first half of last year, the company said in a report.

"Though the drop didn't seem that significant in the first half, we expect the investment value for the whole year to fall by up to 50 percent from an all-time high of US$57.1 billion in 2013," said Jim Yip, managing director of investment and advisory services at DTZ China.

Foreign investment in the period fell to an all-time low of 9 percent, from 43 percent for the same period of 2013 and 24 percent for the previous six months, the report said.

By type, offices remained the most favored option among property investors, accounting for 57 percent of all transactions in the first half.