SHANGHAI'S land sales surged in the first half of this year as improving sentiment helped boost property developers' outlook.

With their thirst for land, the developers were also willing to pay more for the plots whose price was on average 23.4 percent more expensive than their asking prices, Soufun.com, China's largest real estate website operator, said in a report yesterday.

Between January and June, 4.66 million square meters of land, excluding those for public use, were sold across the city for 70.3 billion yuan (US$11.4 billion), an annual surge of 120 percent and 379 percent, respectively, Soufun.com, said.

A total of 713,200 square meters of land were sold for housing, excluding government-subsidized affordable homes, for 11.99 billion yuan, the report said. Land totalling 2.36 million square meters designated for commercial development was sold for 54.6 billion yuan. The final 1.58 million square meters, designated for affordable homes, were sold for 3.75 billion yuan.

The report also disclosed that the land parcels sold in the first six months cost on average 23.4 percent above their asking prices, with 28 of the 117 plots sold for more than 50 percent, according to Soufun.

"Last year, only 18 parcels were sold for more than 50 percent of their starting prices," said Li Zongzhou, a Soufun analysts.

"The fact that more real estate companies are willing to pay a higher price for land plots is both a reflection of strong demand among developers to expand their land reserves and an indication of upbeat momentum among the players," Li added.