Real estate agents are reporting better business this year than they have seen for some time, because lower prices have encouraged people to look for cheaper alternatives. More market churn equals more commissions.

Location and quality, of course, slow down the pace. "The market is still going down, but good quality properties are largely unaffected," said Guy Fulton, general manager of First Pacific Davies in Shanghai.

How long the slide continues is anybody's guess, and depends to a large extent on wider economic factors.

But Fulton said he sees prices bottoming out by the end of next year in Puxi, and possibly somewhat earlier in Pudong.

"The issue is one of over-building in a short space of time. But as long as the economic situation allows foreign and local companies to expand, then the space should be taken up," he said.

A constant theme in the market is that in spite of over-supply, there remains only a limited range of choices at the quality end.

If you want good apartments with good management and services, and reliable supply of electricity and communications, the choices are very limited.