MAJOR real estate investments in Shanghai rose nearly 19 percent in the first half of this year, with overseas buyers sealing more than 60 percent of the deals, a global real estate services firm said yesterday.

Between January and June, 15.2 billion yuan (US$2.46 billion) of property acquisitions worth more than US$10 million each were sealed in the city, up 18.7 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to DTZ, a division of UGL Ltd.

òOverseas buyers dominated the market in the first six months of this year as they sealed 66 percent of the total deals, a significant rise from 22 percent registered in the same period a year earlier,ó said Jim Yip, co-head of DTZ China Investment. òThe office segment still remained the most popular real estate type among investors, accounting for 59 percent of the total property investment during the six-month period.ó

Retail property investments took a 36 percent share in the first six months, up from 11 percent in the same period a year earlier, DTZ said.