MARCUS Ford, manager of the restaurant M on the Bund, recently bought an apartment on Beijing Donglu, close to the Bund.

After spending the last six years in Shanghai, Ford, originally from Britain, decided to make Shanghai his home.

“I like the energy of the city, its growth and change,?he said. “It is amazing to watch a city grow up like this.? “Compared to other cities of this kind worldwide, Shanghai is a very safe place to live with perfect balance, which is fantastic,?he added.

Ford said that a third of his expat friends have purchased apartments, exclusively for their own use. “We are making our home here because it is the greatest city in the world,?Ford said.

Unlike Ford and his friends, however, New Zealander Andy Fisher is buying an apartment as an investment.

Fisher lives in an apartment assigned by Shanghai Shangde Experimental School, where he teaches.

“Location is very important and I am expecting good returns from my investment,?he said.

He is looking into properties in the Zhoupu and Hongqiao areas as his Chinese friends foresee property prices in these areas will rise within the next two to three years.

Facts and figures

According to official figures recently released by the Shanghai Municipal Government, foreign buyers acquired 990,000 square metres of housing during the first 10 months of this year, accounting for up to 4 per cent of all local property purchases for the period.

Americans account for the largest proportion of expatriate buyers in the city, followed by Japanese and Singaporeans, according to a research conducted by Colliers International Property Services (Shanghai) Co Ltd.

Koreans and Japanese prefer to live with their friends in groups. Hongqiao’s Gubei area is a popular choice for them.

Europeans and Americans pay close attention to their children’s education. If they live in families, they tend to live between the downtown and international schools. Some Germans and French people live in the Minghang area for this reason.

District-wise, Xuhui and Changning districts are their top choices, followed by Luwan and Pudong, according to research conducted by Coldwell Banker, a Taiwan-based property service company with a strong presence in Shanghai.

Coldwell Banker’s research shows apartments located in central areas priced at 1.6 to 2 million yuan (US$193,000-240,000) are most popular, so are villas price at 3 to 4 million yuan (US$360,000-480,000).

An important factor in foreign buyers?decision-making is the quality of property management, upon which they do not mind lavishing money.

How much impact?

The Chinese media has long been reporting on worries that foreign buyers such as Ford and Fisher are pushing up property prices in Shanghai.

Overseas investment institutions, which are wealthier and less visible are of particular concern. These companies are most interested in high-end office buildings with clear property rights, said James W Horne, president of Colliers International, a cross-national property service company.

Horne revealed that Colliers registered a 50 per cent increase last month in consulting services to overseas investors, mostly from Europe and Japan, who were investing in Shanghai real estate.

Amid fears that a surge of international capital will add further heat to the already feverish market, city government spokesperson Jiao Yang sought to address the issue at a recent news conference, saying that with local residents, out-of-town Chinese and foreigners accounting for 80, 15 and 4 per cent of recent purchases respectively, the current mix of buyers is “reasonable?

Echoing her statement, Pang Yuan, deputy director of Shanghai Housing and Land Administrative Bureau, said at the recently held Sixth China (Shanghai) International Real Estate & Archi-tech Fair that local residents?self-improvement was the driving force behind the bullish market.

“Foreign buyers might have pushed up high-end property prices, but that doesn’t reflect the overall housing price index,?he said.