Shanghai's pre-owned housing index fell for the first time in four months amid continued sluggish sales, the Shanghai Existing House Index Office said yesterday.
The index, which monitors month-on-month price changes in 130 areas around the city, lost 6 points, or 0.22 percent, from May to 4,001 points.
"Following sales declines for three consecutive months, a minor retreat in prices seemed a natural response of the market," the office said. "However, it is still a bit early to call it a sign of a turnaround."
The average cost of pre-occupied homes climbed in 55 areas, fell in 55 and was flat in the rest.
In June, about 12,200 units of existing houses changed hands across the city, a month-on-month decrease of 16.6 percent and a year-on-year plunge of 49.9 percent, Shanghai Homelink Real Estate Agency Co said in an earlier report.
Existing homes costing no more than 3 million yuan (US$439,000) remained the most sought-after, taking up 65.4 percent of total sales, an increase of 2.2 percentage points from May.
Those priced between 3 million yuan and 5 million yuan accounted for 21.2 percent, down 2.3 points from a month earlier. By end-June, about 169,500 occupied houses were available for sale, up 0.6 percent from a month earlier.
