ABOUT 40 percent of the people in a survey plan to buy a house in Shanghai in three years, a proportion almost same as that in a 2011 survey, a biennial study by the city's statistics bureau showed yesterday.

Those in their 20s and 30s express the strongest desire, the survey found.

Nearly half of those having home purchase plans want to upgrade their living conditions while about 20 percent would do so for reason of marriage, according to a survey.

About 70 percent of the respondents will spend no more than 2 million yuan (US$322,580) to buy a house located between the Inner and Outer Ring roads, according to the online survey, which received valid answers from 2,778 local respondents from all walks of life.

But the survey also found a more prevalent wait-and-see mood among home seekers. About 48 percent of the respondents said they don't plan to buy a home within three years, up from 38 percent in 2011.

Meanwhile, 11 percent of the respondents said they don't plan to buy a house, down from 22 percent recorded in 2011.

About 48 percent of the respondents said their family income is between 100,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan a year, while 35 percent have a household annual income of under 100,000 yuan.

About 81 percent of the respondents have Shanghai hukou and those aged 40 and younger accounted for 76 percent, according to the survey.