SHANGHAI, June 12 -- SHANGHAI'S transaction volume of new properties decreased by three percentage points while the average price increased dramatically in the first week after the central government's latest regulatory measures were enacted on June 1, Youth Daily reported today.

The central government made it more difficult to sell a property from June 1 by imposing a 5.5 percent tax on the total sale price of a property sold within five years, from the previous two years.

The transaction volume of newly sold properties was 4,096 from June 2 to June 8, sliding by 37.7 percent, compared to the previous week. The volume of residences was 3,607 of the total, down 27.8 percent from the week before June 1, according to the statistics from a local property service Website.

Meanwhile, high-end houses, costing a minimum of 10,000 yuan (US$1,249) per square meter, saw robust sales since June 2, thanks to a strong demand, which boosted the average property price by almost two percentage points, compared to the previous week.

The average price of new properties was 10,756 yuan per square meter last week, increasing by 18 percent from a week ago, of which residential use was 10,976 yuan per square meter, up 21.3 percent, according to the Website.

Taking one luxury residence on Huashan Rd, in Changning District, as an example, it had a transaction volume of 116 last week, with an average price above 20,000 yuan per square meter, ranking first on the sales board.

Buyers and sellers of low-and-medium priced homes have been taking a wait-and-see type of attitude, which lead to a placid residential market, with lower transaction volumes, pointed out real estate experts.

The calm in the market is expected to prolong, especially during the period when strings of detailed policies may be implemented by local governments, said experts.