(Yicai) March 28 -- The residential land area traded in China’s first- and second-tier cities jumped about 40 percent in the first two months of the year from a year earlier, even though the country’s average figure declined in the period.

Over 2,020 hectares of residential lands were traded in China’s 70 large- and medium-sized cities in January and February, up 1.4 percent from the same period last year, Wang Yongmei, spokesperson of the Ministry of Natural Resources, said at a press conference yesterday. Residential property land transactions in first- and second-tier cities soared 40 percent and 42 percent, respectively, while those in third-tier cities plunged 36 percent, Wang noted.

A total of 4,845 ha of housing land was traded in China in the first two months, down nearly 19 percent from a year earlier.

China’s residential land transactions continued to shrink this year because the overall downturn in the industry remained unchanged, the China Index Academy said in a research report yesterday.

However, core cities accelerated the promotion of more high-quality land, and real estate companies invested more in core regions and high-quality land parcels, which led to an increase in their traded residential land areas, the CIA noted.

First-tier cities have accelerated the pace of land auctions compared to last year, according to data from the CIA. The construction area for residential properties in first-tier cities surged 88 percent so far this year as of March 26 from a year earlier, with the related transaction value up nearly three-fold.

Key cities have accelerated the supply of high-quality land, with some auctioned land plots becoming very popular, positively impacting the overall market sentiment, the CIA said.

This year, the Central Economic Work Conference and the Two Sessions put forward clear requirements to optimize real estate policies and promote the stable and healthy development of the property market, Liu Aihua, spokesperson of the National Bureau of Statistics, said earlier. Rolling out relevant policies will contribute to the stable, healthy, and high-quality development of the real estate market, Liu added.

Editor: Futura Costaglione