Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news

A series of government macro-control policies have dragged down the number of properties purchased by expatriates, today's Oriental Morning Post reported.
From the second half of last year to the first two months of this year, expatriates had a growing zest to invest in the local real estate market.
In the first two months of the year, expatriates in Shanghai purchased properties valued at more than four billion yuan (US$480 million), up 1.5 times from the same period last year. They mainly bought high-end properties in the city center. However, government macro-adjustment policies to cool off the overheated real estate market have made both domestic and overseas buyers take a wait-and-see attitude.
In Jing'an District where expatriates make up a substantial percentage of the property buyers, housing trades have slumped by up to 80 percent since April, said Zhao Jiachun, manager with the Zhongyuan Real Estate Development Co's Jing'an region, adding that most expatriates are opting to rent apartments.