(Yicai) July 9 -- Shanghai’s real estate market showed strong recovery in the first half of the year, with notable gains in luxury housing and land transactions, according to a private think tank.

Between January and June, nearly 1,100 newly built homes priced at CNY30 million (USD4.2 million) or more were sold, generating total sales of CNY55.3 billion (USD7.7 billion), according to a report released today by the Shanghai E-House China R&D Institute. That figure is nearly three times the CNY19.4 billion recorded during the same period in 2023.

Shanghai’s luxury housing market has been expanding significantly for two consecutive years, with each half-year period seeing over CNY50 billion in transactions. The trend reflects strong demand for housing upgrades and robust purchasing power among high-end buyers.

Land transactions also picked up pace. In the first half, total transacted land area rose 13 percent year-on-year to nearly 2.2 million square meters, while land transfer fees surged 51 percent to CNY67 billion, suggesting increased availability of high-quality plots.

Official data further support the report’s findings. In the first half, combined transactions of new and second-hand homes in Shanghai reached 13.1 million sqm, up 17 percent year-on-year, marking the highest level since 2022. Among these, new home sales remained steady at 3.3 million sqm, while second-hand home transactions jumped 24 percent to 9.9 million sqm, also the highest since 2022.

In terms of pricing, Shanghai’s new housing price index rose 2.7 percent in the January-May period compared to the previous five months. Second-hand home prices increased 1.3 percent, following the implementation of multiple stimulus measures since last October, including a reduction in the down payment ratio.

Editor: Emmi Laine