Three hundred and twenty thousand square meter homes have been sold out in the first half of this year, 6.29% higher than the same period last year. Its sales volume has amounted to 200 thousand yuan, 10.14% higher than 182 thousand yuan in the first half of last year.

Home sales spurred in April, doubled in sales volume in March. The sales volume in May continued to increase, even more than the total sales in the first quarter of this year. 1185 suites were sold in June, 34% higher than in May, and accounting for 24% of the total number of home sales in Kunshan city. 2055 suites were sold in July, amounting to a total area of 128409 square meters and 852 million yuan in sales volume.

In the second half of the last year, all developers slowed down their construction due to the global financial crisis. Since the beginning of this year, with the support and encouragement of the local government, they began to pick up construction again. 9027 suites from six major projects have been ordered, including Hall 2 in the international purchase center, Xiaoxian Garden, Greenland Home, Zhongcheng Park, Dugong Hall and Zhongguan Square, 19.4% higher than the same period last year.

In addition to the apartments, Huaqiao also took efforts to promote the services in the surrounding areas. 13 projects were put into use, including International Huacheng Park, Greenland International Home, Yourun Square, and Zhongtai Mansion, whose total area is amounted to 465.3 thousand square meters, 80% higher than the same period last year.

Given the steady turning over, 11 new projects will break ground in the second half of this year, with an area of 970 thousand square meters, among which 719 thousand square meter houses are expected to be booked in advance.

Huaqiao attributes the steady upward rise of sales to the following reasons.

The increase in financial BPO, software ITO, headquarters, and modern logistics in Huaqiao come hand in hand with a surge of all kinds of talents and consumers in Huaqiao. Take Capgmini for instance, the company will introduce over 2000 talents by 2010 and 5000 by 2013, 20% of whom are youngsters aged 20-24 and engaged in researching and developing software systems, whose annual salary will amount to over 70 thousand yuan; 30% are aged 24-27 and responsible for system implementation, whose annual salary is expected to be over 90 thousand yuan; 50% are managers aged 26-40 with annual salaries between 250-800 thousand yuan. Not only do they have the demand for houses, but they also have the purchasing power.

On the other hand, Huaqiao has a geographic advantage—it is adjacent to Shanghai and a light subway is being built, which means the transportation will be improved. Also, compared to the real estate prices in Shanghai, Huaqiao’s are much lower, attracting many Shanghai residents to purchase its commercial houses.

By Xie Fang