Gulf between price rises turns choice into a no-brainer

New homes in downtown Shanghai, or those within the city's Inner Ring, or downtown, sold for an average of 87,426 yuan ($12,700) a square meter last year, an indication that the aspirations of younger people to own a home in the city center are becoming ever more elusive, industry experts say.

In contrast, the average price of homes between the Inner Ring and the Outer Ring was 44,984 yuan a sq m, and those situated beyond the Outer Ring in the suburban areas sold for 18,127 yuan a sq m.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences says that in the year ended January home prices in Shanghai rose 61.28 percent. Some of the mega cities in China have entered a "super high home price period" as median prices of homes in Beijing reached 57,568 yuan a sq m in January, followed by Shanghai at 52,429 yuan a sq m, the academy said.