Land prices in second- and third-tier cities such as Haikou, Zhongshan and Kunming surged more than 10 percent in the first three months from the last quarter of 2009, the National Business Daily reported Wednesday, citing statistics from China Land Surveying and Planning Institute (CLSPI).
Land prices in 105 cities averaged 2,715 yuan ($397.72) per square meter in the first quarter, up 2.34 percent from the previous quarter. Residential land prices climbed 2.97 percent and averaged 4,822 yuan per square meter, a surge of 11.86 percent year-on-year.
Chinese Land and Resources Minister Xu Shaoshi said that the increase in land supply was a major reason for the recent surge in demand for land.
China's total land supply in the first quarter rose 67 percent year-on-year to 1 million mu (66,667 hectares), 39.2 percent of which was for real estate, an increase of 10.2 percent over the same period of last year, Xu said.
