A total of 207 billion yuan ($31.4 billion) worth of residential properties were traded in Shanghai in 2010, or 2.60 million yuan per unit, despite the central government's efforts to cool the housing market, analysts have said.

There were 79,744 units of apartments traded in Shanghai as of Dec 27, according to statistics from the China Real Estate Information Corp (CRIC). The real estate information provider said each unit was sold at an average price of 2.60 million yuan in the last year.

A newly built apartment located within the city's inner ring was priced at 6.52 million yuan on average in 2010, up 36.4 percent from the previous year's figures, the CRIC reported.

Similarly, an apartment in the inner ring and middle ring was priced at 4.23 million yuan, up 41.4 percent year-on-year. An apartment located between the middle ring and outer ring was priced at 3.18 million yuan, up 58.6 percent year-on-year, while one between the outer ring and outskirts cost 2.16 million yuan, up 53 percent year-on-year. An apartment in the outskirts of the city was priced 1.71 million yuan, up 55 percent from the previous year's figure.

Mounting concerns over future inflation coupled with the housing market as a stable investment and its insensitivity to macro-economic control have resulted in the resilient housing prices, said Wu Huimin, director of the residential department at DTZ Holdings Plc, an international property consultancy.

Information from the Land Registry of Hong Kong showed that the special administrative region's average housing price was HK$4.03 million ($520,000) in the first half of 2010. The properties traded within the outer ring of Shanghai were priced at 4.32 million yuan, 26 percent higher than that of Hong Kong.

The average income in Hong Kong is HK$391,245, according to PayScale, a global online compensation data, while an average Shanghai resident earns less than one-tenth of that amount. Economists including Andy Xie and Mao Yushi have warned of a domestic housing market bubble bursting.

It is "almost impossible" for an average worker to buy a flat in this city, so most of them will have to rely on government-subsidized houses, said Xue Jianxiong, research director with the CRIC.

Urbanization has also led to rapid infrastructure construction and further boosted housing prices. If new residents of the city cannot find proper housing, urbanization will be affected and that will in turn affect the real economy seriously, he said.

Chen Jie, a professor specializing in the property market at Fudan University, said government-subsidized apartments can help meet the challenges. "Fifty percent of people in Hong Kong are living in government-subsidized houses and the amount in Singapore is even higher at 75 percent."

Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng said in late December that the city will start building up to 15 million square meters of government-subsidized housing, which will be able to accommodate about 185,000 households.

However, these housing projects are targeted at local families and require strict application criteria. The 6 million-plus migrant population in the city, including new graduates and migrant laborers, are excluded from the waiting list, analysts said.

Shanghai will reportedly launch a property tax for newly purchased properties as part of efforts to rein in the soaring housing prices.

One reported trial said households owning more than 200 sq m of a porperty each will pay a special tax.

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