Historic Shanghai villa set for auction, starting at over US$20m

A century-old villa in Shanghai's downtown Jing'an District will be auctioned on August 13, with a starting price of 150 million yuan (US$20.9 million), according to a notice on the Alibaba auction platform.

The house at 532 Yuyuan Road was built in 1924 and is part of the Liulin Villa residential complex, which includes 11 historic garden villas.

The property has appeared in popular Chinese TV dramas such as "Nothing But Thirty" and "Your Home is My Business."

The villa covers a land area of about 850 square meters. It features two floors and a 500-square-meter garden. The starting price comes out to more than 430,000 yuan for each of the villa's 347 square meters.

The auction will follow an open bidding process with no reserve price. Bidders must pay a deposit of 15 million yuan.

The winning bidder must sign a sales contract within 10 days and pay 30 percent of the sales price.

Currently, the villa is leased to a guesthouse operator under a contract that runs until 2029. The buyer can negotiate to end the lease early.

The auction company said the auction is a private sale and involves no legal disputes.

Historic luxury properties in Shanghai have drawn rising interest. In May, a villa on Xinhua Road in Changning District was sold for 270 million yuan.

In April, another villa on Julu Road in Jing'an was sold for 310 million yuan, setting a new price record at over a million yuan per square meter.

Shanghai issued a local regulation to protect its historical buildings in 2003. The law requires owners to restore any changes before a sale and to maintain the original appearance during renovations.

Shanghai has an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 old villas. More than 90 percent are state-owned and rented out.

Only 200 privately-owned villas have clear legal status and are available for sale. About 50 of them are in good condition and listed on the market. Most are priced above 100 million yuan.