Sales of pre-owned houses rose to the highest this year in Shanghai in November as upgraders, in particular, fueled rising demand.
A total of 37,400 units of pre-owned homes were sold across the city last month, the highest monthly volume registered so far this year, Shanghai Centaline Property Consultants Ltd said in a report released last Friday. The homes sold marked a 17.5 percent jump from October and a surge of 90.5 percent from the same period a year ago.
"The volume did beat market expectations and was also the second-highest monthly figure ever recorded in the city's history, only after that of March 2013," Sun Li, a senior researcher at Shanghai Centaline, said without elaborating.
"Home upgrading demand remained extremely robust while successive cuts in reserve ratios and interest rates, coupled with the new 'two-child' policy, prompted home seekers to enter the market."
Pre-owned homes across the city were sold for an average 25,402 yuan ($3,970) per square meter in November, up 2.5 percent monthly and a year-on-year gain of 15.9 percent, Centaline data showed.
The city's existing housing index, which tracks monthly price changes, rose 0.97 percent to 3,156 last month, said the Shanghai Existing House Index Office.
The prices of pre-owned houses rose in 99 of the 130 areas checked, fell in 15 and were flat in the remaining 16 areas.
