THE buying sentiment for new homes rebounded significantly in Shanghai last week following sluggish sales since the beginning of this month, the latest market data showed.

The purchases of new residential properties, excluding government-funded affordable housing, jumped 33 percent from the previous week to 219,100 square meters during the seven-day period ended on Sunday, exceeding the 200,000-square-meter threshold for the first time in four weeks, according to research released today by Shanghai Deovolente Realty Co.

"Driven by robust sales registered in the mid- to low-end segment, the city's new housing market saw a notable recovery last week," said Lu Qilin, a Deovolente researcher. "However, the rebound wouldn't be enough to save July from being the month that recorded the second-lowest transaction volume so far this year."

The average cost of new homes fell to a four-week low of 23,898 yuan (US$3,873) per square meter, down 6.5 percent from the previous week. Properties at eight of the city's ten best-selling housing projects were sold for less than 27,000 yuan a square meter, Deovolente data showed.

New home supply, meanwhile, extended its strength for the second straight week. A total of 367,400 square meters of new homes, mainly apartment developments in outlying areas, were released to the local market, a surge of 79.7 percent from the previous week.

As of Sunday, new home sales in Shanghai totaled 697,900 square meters in July, down some 30 percent from same period a month earlier, Deovolente data showed.