DESPITE skyrocketing home prices, the rental market remained stable in the second quarter, government figures released Wednesday showed.

The average rental price for Shenzhen homes was 32.5 yuan (US$4.75) per square meter, similar to that of the first quarter, according to the city’s housing rental management office.

This was in sharp contrast to housing prices, which jumped nearly 40 percent to 14,908 yuan per square meter in June despite a not-so-bright economic forecast.

The economic crisis has forced more tenants to move to Longgang and Bao’an, where rents are lower than in Luohu, Futian and Nanshan districts. As a result, rents in those three districts fell slightly, according to the management office.

The average monthly rent for Futian apartments remains highest among all districts at 42 yuan per square meter.

Factory space rentals continued to drop in the second quarter, with 25 percent of factories remaining empty, according to the office.

Office space, however, stabilized after months of decline. The average monthly rent for office space was 88 yuan per square meter in the second quarter, down only 2 percent from the first quarter. But with 800,000 square meters of office space expected to enter the market this year, the vacancy rate will likely rise, according to the office.

(Helen Deng)