China's land supply soars

Land supply for real estate use in China has increased 98.4 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2010, along with the supply of land for low-income housing, which climbed 100 percent, said the Ministry of Land and Resources.

The land supply for residential property use increased 112.5 percent year-on-year, while the land supply for commercial property rose 64.1 percent in the first half of 2010.

Out of the 36 major cities in China, 30 cities saw an increase of property land supply in the first six months of the year, while around 28 cities recorded a year-on-year increase of land supply intended for low-income housing programmes.

However, the average transfer price of land for residential and commercial properties fell 10.6 percent and 17.4 percent in the first quarter, respectively. Overall, the average transfer price of land for property dropped 5 percent in Q2 from Q1.

Many analysts said that the data for land supply in China for the first half of 2010 indicated that the country’s macro control policies on the property sector have shown results, as land supply in the property market is currently sufficient.