Chinese land price growth slows

The average price of land in 105 monitored Chinese cities stood at 3,412 yuan (554 U.S. dollars) per square meter in the first quarter of 2014, up 1.89 percent from the previous quarter, a report said on Tuesday. The price growth saw a decrease of 0.17 percentage points from the previous quarter. It also marked a first cutback after land price growth expanded for seven consecutive quarters, according to the report released by the China Land Surveying and Planning Institute. The average land price figure was based on prices of land used for three different purposes -- commercial use, residential property development, and industrial production. Land for commercial use and residential property development both saw a a slowdown in price growth in the first quarter, even though land for industrial production saw a 1.71-percent rise in price, up 0.39 percentage point from the previous quarter. On a year-on-year basis, the average land price rose more steeply at 7.63 percent in the first quarter of 2014, the report showed.