Developers are confident that demand for luxury homes will stay strong as more multinationals take up residence
THE SHANGHAI PROPERTY market might be slowing down from the five-year rocket ride that saw house prices rise 100 per cent to 150 per cent, but strong demand for luxury properties will continue to make them a good long-term investment.
Kevin Harding, managing partner of Elite 8 Consulting, an expatriate relocation and real estate consulting service, said Shanghai as an emerging 'global city' was inexpensive compared with other major world centres - luxury housing prices were about a third of comparable properties in Hong Kong.
He said an influx of overseas workers brought in by multinationals had put pressure on the villa market.
'If you compare any major cities in the world, what you call global cities, London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris; Shanghai is cheap. And Shanghai is going to be one of the leading cities in the world in 20 years from now, if not sooner.
'While manufacturing was early [moving into China], what we are now seeing is the service industry, which supports those multinationals moving in. With the WTO [World Trade Organisation] agreement opening up and the strings being loosened for insurance and banking, now there is more movement from people in these sectors and it is driving demand.'
