Average Land Prices in Shanghai Drop 40% as Developers Become More Cautious

While the amount of land sold in Shanghai during 2011 was up compared to 2010, the amount of revenue that the local government achieved through these sales dropped during the past year. According to reports from local media, the greatest number of transactions at government land auctions occurred during the first quarter, however, prices achieved through these auctions worsened considerably during the third and fourth quarters as the impact of government tightening measure began to be felt.

According to a report on CapitalVue.com,

The municipal government supplied 308 plots of land in 2011, with the total area up 12.79 percent year-on-year to 14.64 million square meters. Of the total, 27 plots of land were not transacted.

The highest price paid this year was the 4.52 billion yuan transacted for a plot of land at Century Avenue, Pudong district. The price paid was about half the 9.22 billion yuan transacted for a plot at the Bund area last year.

In terms of price per square meter, the highest price fetched this year was 21,362 yuan per square meter, down from the 52,783 yuan per square meter recorded in 2010.

Revenue from the 10 most expensive plots of land in 2010 had totaled 44.03 billion yuan, while the amount this year was 27.41 billion yuan, down by about 40 percent.

According to the Shanghai branch of Soufun, the average floor price of Shanghai land fell 23 percent from the 7,303 yuan per square meter in 2010, to 5,623 yuan in 2011. Residential land plots recorded the highest price drops, with the average floor price down 39.45 percent from the 10,668 yuan recorded in 2010, to 6,459 yuan per square meter.

Of the 281 plots of land transacted this year, 170 plots, or more than 60 percent, were sold at their reserve prices. The average premium rate was 17.66 percent, down from the 46 percent recorded last year.

According to Shanghai Soufun, the average premium rates of residential land plots fell more than 60 percent, from 102 percent in 2010, to 40.5 percent this year.

Much of the drop in pricing can be attributed to the major residential developers staying out of the land market. Poly Real Estate Corporation only bought two plots of land during 2011, while China Vanke acquired three plots. Gemdale Corporation and China Merchants Property Development, which are also among China’s biggest developers, did not purchase any land.