How to find good villas in Shanghai

Shanghai villa rentals are an ideal manner for adding privacy and luxury quotient in your living. In fact, it is possible to save a lot of money by relinquishing the luxurious hotels and stay like a resident by leasing a private Shanghai villa.Villas for all tastes are present in Shanghai whether one wants to experience the Chinese culture or western style like French, Italy, etc. For those who want to try the metropolitan spots may go ahead with downtown villas are located in the center or busy area of Shanghai.There are a number of choices you have to make when selecting a suitable home for your lifestyle in Shanghai. 

The Independent Villas

Usually called Houses in the West these may take the form of stand alone or semi-detached. Often townhouses or row houses can be found in many of the same developments, offering access to the same facilities but without the size or cost of an independent villa.There is limited supply downtown, usually on the small side and aging. One or two newer redeveloped older housing developments are beginning to appear on the market.

Villas in Local Compounds

Expats who choose to live in local compounds usually select high end local enclaves, usually in the western suburbs. These are also standalone or semi-detached houses with gardens, but facilities are usually not provided and English may not be spoken.

Historic Housing

You may be tempted to live downtown in traditional Lane Houses or older independent villas usually from the 1920’s and later. These are commonly called ‘Lao Yang Fang. See Housing Market Residential Areas

Some are outstandingly beautiful places, however we advise caution and having a year of two living in Shanghai before being tempted by the romance of this style of living. Although the villas may be beautiful on the outside beauty is very often only skin deep.

Semi-Detached Houses

A single building structure that has been designed to house two families. From the outside it looks like a very large single home but in fact has two homes, mirror images of each other. Separate entrances and usually gardens mean this is usually a lower cost option than a single villa home. Not many are to found in Shanghai with the preference being for single villa homes and townhouses.Usually having 3 or 4 floors, townhouses have separate entrances and often gardens too, offering a lower cost option than a single villa or semi-detached home.

Many developments are offering this option as the popularity of having the facilities and living in the green space that a villa development offers, gains in popularity amongst the local affluent population in addition to developer’s recognizing that not all expatriate families have large or unlimited housing budgets.

These take many different forms from a small one-bedroom apartment to a huge 4 or 5 bedroom duplex penthouse and rents can run from around US$1,000 for a small unit in a decent expatriate oriented Shanghai villas to US$15,000 for the best Shanghai has to offer. Luxury apartments are popular because of the host of on-site services they offer, from restaurants to post offices, gyms, pre-schools and in some cases, office towers and five-star hotels on the premises.