The rental prices that expatriates pay in Shanghai are expected to rise by as much as 8 percent over the forthcoming year as a result of both the increase in the number of foreigners moving to the city and the restrictions on home buying that have recently been introduced by the government.
According to a new report published by property consultants Knight Frank, rising demand for expat housing in Shanghai will entail that rental prices will continue to rise throughout the city, especially in the Pudong area.
The “Shanghai Expatriate Housing Market Insights 2013” report also found that rental prices in the popular expatriate areas of Lujiazui in Pudong and Xintiandi in downtown Puxi reached an all-time high in 2012, with rents reaching an average of around 30.50 USD per square meter per month. Serviced apartments are also rapidly increasing in price, with the average rental of furnished serviced tenancies at between $4800 and $8000 USD per month.
Discussing the increases in rental charges, Regina Yang, head of research and consultancy at Knight Frank in Shanghai commented: “The city’s economic growth and its status as China’s financial capital continued to attract foreign workers.
“Shanghai expatriate housing landscape is evolving quickly with the development of international schools, emerging new commercial districts, rapidly expanding infrastructure and the development of higher quality housing options to meet expatriate demand and help in a smooth transition to a new posting.”
It is anticipated that demand for rental apartments will remain strong throughout 2013 with vacant units expected to reach a low of around 4 percent, despite the fact that many corporations have reduced the corporate housing benefit packages that they offer to relocating expatriates. Coupled with the property cooling measures, Knight Frank anticipates that rents will continue to increase throughout Shanghai, especially within the prime expat areas.
For more information on the real costs associated with living in Shanghai, check out our expat guide to Shanghai.
Read the full article: http://www.knightfrank.com.hk/en/news/28-03-2013/white-paper-sh-expat
