Land prices fall in China's cities except Beijing in March: report

BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The average land prices in 70 key cities fell 31 percent in March over February as the country's measures to curb property prices "start working", a report from the China Land Surveying and Planning Institute (CLSPI) said.

Land supplies in 70 large- and medium-sized cities were rebounding in March and market transactions remained active, said a CLSPI report released by the Ministry of Land and Resources on its website Monday.

Land prices for residential use and their premiums in Beijing, however, continued to surge "markedly" in March from a month earlier, the report said, without giving the exact numbers.

Housing prices almost doubled in big cities like Beijing in 2009, triggering fears about possible property bubbles and widespread complaints among people who don't own a house in the cities.

The Beijing Municipal government vowed earlier this year that it would provide at least 2,500 hectares of land to build 30 million square meters of houses this year.

A division of the Ministry of Land and Resources, CLSPI published a report on land transactions in 70 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, on a monthly basis.

The average land prices of 70 key cities dropped 31 percent month on month to 1,438 yuan (210 U.S. dollars) per square meter in March while land prices for residential use in those cities averaged 1,868 yuan (about 273 U.S. dollars) per square meter, down 20 percent from February, according to the CLSPI report.