Land prices in 105 major Chinese cities rose 9.29 percent year-on-year to 2,756 yuan (US$406.5) per square meter in the second quarter this year, official figures released Monday indicated.

Land prices also edged up 1.52 percent compared with the previous quarter, said the China Land Surveying and Planning Institute, which is under the Ministry of Land and Resources.

In the second quarter, prices growth of land for residential use fell 1.24 percentage points from the first quarter, outpacing the 0.36 percentage point dip in prices of land for commercial buildings and 0.53 percentage point drop in prices for industrial purposes, said the institute in a statement. It attributed the price declines to the tightening policies the government put in place.

In April, the government imposed a group of measures to rein in soaring home prices and curb property market speculation, including tighter scrutiny of the financing of developments, the limiting of loans for third-home purchases and higher down-payments for second-home purchases.

June data indicated the red-hot property market has started cooling as average housing prices in 70 major cities fell 0.1 percent in June from May.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2010)