I have been living here in Shanghai, XieBei area, for 2 years now and my wife and I want to stop wasting money and rent and buy a place. My main question is, what part of Shanghai would be best for my family. I am not here on an expat package, work as a non-local and my wife moved here from Guangzhou 2 years ago also. We have a 14 month old daughter who is being raised by her parents in Guangzhou until we get a place outside of the city. My wife has developed azthma here, I have frequest headaches and a dry cough and we don't want our daughter to damage her lungs because we work in the city.

We have looked in PuDong and HongQiao and have not found aything really appealing. As my wife is Chinese the housing agents just show here condos, I would prefer a town house or non-high rise building. We would like a place with cleaner air, kid friendly and close to the metro, my wife works near XiJia Way and me in ZhongShan park. We want to buy, not rent and are looking for a 2 to 3 br place between 90m-120m square. My daughter loves playgrounds and we would have to put her into day care as her parents have talked her out of hiring an ayi in Shangahi. I am partial to the properties in SongJing but do not know if the metro is out that far yet. Would it be possible to get a town house or a condo in a short building close to lines 1 or 2 and far enough out of the city to have fresher air and a place where kids play?

Real estate near metro lines or when metro lines are built near complexes generally increase the value near them, as it is more convenient for travel, and less traffic nowadays and in the coming future with the roads and cars on the streets. I'm taking a wild guess and shooting for a ballpark figure of at least 5-6m rmb'ish, villas are what typically sold here, I've rarely seen "townhouses" like the ones back in the states, even double deckers can be found, but split down the side, in Shanghai, could be pricey also. Make sure you work out who gets to put their names on the divorce papers... I mean the green Real Estate book. g/l.

Hi

I own two Kingscourt service apartments and looking to sell one. The subway near the apartment should be in service by the end of 2009 or early 2010. It is right next to the Shanghai Community International School. Near a part and close to shopping.

For detail, see http://shanghai-stay-and-visit.ning.com/

The one for sale is 3 rooms.

Regards


Steve