Influx of new businesses, residents sets off property boom

The Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone is driving up prices and transaction volumes of housing in neighboring districts, as the State-led area is expected to become an economic driver for the country's financial hub over the next decade.

Covering 28.78 square kilometers, the FTZ was officially launched at the end of September. It's being built on the basis of existing bonded zones - the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, Waigaoqiao Free Trade Logistics Park, Yangshan Free Trade Port Area and Pudong Airport Comprehensive Free Trade Zone.

The FTZ is luring investors into residential property in adjacent areas. Pudong Chuansha, Waigaoqiao, Zhuqiao and Lingang New City are four such areas, where housing prices have risen in recent months by some 20 percent.