CHINA'S leading developers were out in force when a four-day real estate fair opened at the Shanghai Exhibition Center yesterday.

Medium to low-end projects in the city's outlying areas were the main attraction.

China Vanke and Gemdale, both absent from a similar fair at the same venue in mid March, joined the likes of Greenland, Poly Real Estate, Pengxin, China Merchants, OCT Real Estate and Country Garden in the display of some 500 real estate developments, with about 60 percent of them local projects.

"The real estate fair held around the Labor Day holiday is usually more popular among developers than the one held in March because buying sentiment is often stronger in May," said Sky Xue, an analyst with China Real Estate Information Corp.

"Some developers would choose to be absent from the March one as the two fairs are set too close, or only one and a half months apart."

The exhibition hall was packed with home-seekers, mostly owner-occupiers rather than investors.

Many seemed to have concerns about fast rising prices.

"I just checked one Poly project in Jiading New Town and was told that there 'could be' some discounts in June when the second phase of the project is scheduled to be released and the sales price will also not be disclosed until then," said a woman in her 30s.

"The only thing for sure, as the salesman told me, is that prices will go up further from the first phase which had been sold out," she said.

Another couple were checking out a project in Minhang District. The husband said: "It's crazy that they are asking for more than 27,000 yuan (US$4,333) a square meter now for bare-shell apartments as the price was only around 20,000 yuan about a year ago."

"Our patience is wearing thin and we are really afraid that if we keep waiting, we will never be able to afford a house of our own," he said.

An online survey before the fair by real estate website Soufun.com found that more than 55 percent of respondents thought home prices in Shanghai would continue to climb steadily despite current property curbs, while 24 percent expected little change.

About 70 percent of the respondents said they planned to enter into a deal sometime this year.