China's land prices surge

BEIJING - Land prices in China witnessed hefty rises in the second quarter of this year, as developers pinned their hopes on surging house prices, official data showed Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), an abnormal price increase had been found in 115 land deals during the April-June period, with the premium rates averaged at 142 percent above the base price for bidding, up 22 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Land prices in major cities monitored by the ministry stood at 3,226 yuan (520.32 U.S. dollars) per square-meter, with commercial use land priced at 6,044 yuan, residential land at 4,799 yuan and industrial land at 684 yuan.

"Prices have been climbing for three consecutive quarters and have entered a relatively high level range." the ministry said in a report.

The economically-developed Pearl River Delta region in southern China posted the most drastic price increase, compared with the Yangtze River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster.

Despite the government's intensified measures to cool the red-hot property market, housing prices rose stubbornly.

Developers have a strong desire to replenish land stockpiles as they are optimistic about the future market, according to the MLR report.