Local govt revenues from land sales down

Local government's revenues from land sales declined significantly in the first half of the year, and land turnover was also lackluster, according to the China Index Academy's latest report.

The combined land transfer revenues of 300 cities across China declined 38 percent compared to last year to 652.6 billion yuan ($103.03 billion), said the academy, which is affiliated with Soufun.com, China's largest property website.

Beijing's land transfer revenues registered a sharp drop of 55.65 percent compared to last year, while Shanghai's revenue contracted about 60 percent from the same period last year, according to the report.

In terms of turnover in land, of the 40 major cities, only 9 had year-on-year growth.

Beijing's turnover of land declined by 57 percent to 2.98 million square meters, and Shanghai's dropped by 22 percent to 8.47 million square meters. However, Guangzhou's turnover increased by 13 percent compared to last year.