(Yicai Global) July 5 -- New residential property land sales, measured by area, rebounded in China's first-tier cities in the first half of this year while that of second-tier ones stabilized and those in third and fourth-tier cities decreased. 

The related transaction area of ​​first-tier cities increased 39 percent from the previous year, the E-house China R&D Institute said in a report that analyzed 40 Chinese cities. The area of second-tier cities fell 0.4 percent. That of third- and fourth-tier cities decreased by 9 percent. The total area fell by 0.3 percent from the same period in 2018. 

The recent downturn in third- and fourth-tier cities has prompted real estate companies to invest more in first- and second-tier cities, Zhang Dawei, chief market analyst at Centaline Property Agency, told Yicai Global.

Second-tier cities will become the main destination for Chinese migrants, as well as key investment hubs for property developers, Zhang predicted, basing the claim on the recent government promise of widening migrants' access to social security in second-tier cities this year. 

Beijing was expanding its sales the most among the 20 cities that logged increases. The capital more than doubled the size of transaction area. From Jan. to June 2018, the city, however, decreased its tally by 57 percent from the previous year, so the comparison point was quite low. Zhuhai in Guangdong province came in second on the list, followed by Zhongshan, both increasing their areas more than two-fold. Fuzhou nearly doubled its transaction area and Ningbo, Zhejiang province, boosted its own tally by 85 percent. 

China's big plan to integrate the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area spurred growth in the southern cities, according to Shen Xin, a researcher at the lab. For example, Northern Chinese people have come to see Zhuhai as an attractive retirement as well as work destination near Hong Kong and Macao, Shen added.

Third- and fourth-tier cities, earlier upstarts, were placed among the biggest losers in the first half. Guangdong's Shantou decreased its area the most, by almost 47 percent. Zhejiang's Jinhua dropped nearly 37 percent, Zhoushan pared 35 percent and Guangdong's Huizhou trimmed 32 percent. 

Editor: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine