Beijing Land Sales Cool

While hope springs eternal in the real estate market, the land sale picture remains clouded.Beijing only sold 28 parcels of land in Q1, down from 50 parcels in Q1 2014. Revenue was ￥48.4 billion, down ￥26.9 billion from last year, a drop of 35.7%. Planned construction is 2.1 million sqm, down 52.4% from 2014. Residential land auctions resulted in 7 land sales in January, 3 in February and only 1 in March as developers have become more rational. Land sales within the 5th ring (higher priced real estate) have dropped from 60 plots in the 5 years from 2005-2009, down to 35 from 2010-2014. High priced apartments have been selling slowly. Developers are wary of overpaying for land and being caught in a cash crunch.

iFeng: 一季度北京土地市场遇冷 成交金额下滑三成五