Beijing sold 45 plots of land in the first quarter, with total transaction value of 9.67 billion yuan, down 39.3 percent from a year ago, and for the first time in seven years, all the plots were transacted at their reserve prices, reports Beijing Times.

Of the total, 33 plots were industrial land, while only five plots were residential land.

These five plots of residential land have a total land area of 666,000 square meters and planned construction area of one million square meters. The average transaction price was 4,796 yuan per square meter.

The transaction area of commercial land in the first quarter fell 52.7 percent from 2010, indicating the cautious attitude of property developers toward land acquisition.

Guo Guangchang, chairman of Fosun International (0656.HK), said 2012 is a good time to acquire land.

Fosun will focus on buying land in Beijing, Shanghai, and some second-tier cities, added Guo.

According to the report, the total area acquired by property developers in the first two months fell 0.5 percent from a year ago as developers are focusing on digesting existing land inventory.

Source:capitalvue.com