"The new measures mean local governments won't keep the land-use fee, which is a part of the net income of land sales," he said. "The doubling of the fee means they have to hand in more."

However, he added that local governments could offset the higher fees by simply raising sales prices, effectively passing on the higher costs to developers.

Meanwhile, an analyst said the change would have little impact on the vibrant activity in high-end real estate markets like Beijing and Shanghai.

Zhang Kunyu, a Beijing-based analyst at Centaline China, a Hong Kong property company, said doubling Beijing's land-use fee to 120 yuan (US$15) per square metre would have little impact on the already sky-high land prices in the capital.

"Even if the fee is passed on, the amount is nothing compared with the high housing prices in Beijing," she said. Statistics show that the average housing price per square metre in Beijing was nearly 10,000 yuan in October.

Zhang also said the increased fees may actually end up exerting more influence on secondary markets, where land prices are comparatively low.

"They (the local governments) will think twice (about developing land) if they have to hand in more while earning a smaller share," she said.

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