(Yicai) Feb. 10 -- A residential plot in Zhengzhou, China's central Henan province, was sold at a premium of 88 percent, the highest in the city's land auctions since 2021, with intense bidding wars in major Chinese cities after the property market showed signs of reviving.

China Overseas Land and Investment bought the land for CNY1.1 billion (USD150.6 million) after taking part in 255 bidding rounds with eight developers at an auction on Feb. 8. The end price was around CNY13,713 (USD1,875) per square meter.

Developers actively participated in the bidding due to the plot's advantageous location, local industry insiders told Yicai. The area boasts a well-developed metro network, convenient transportation, commercial centers, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and others, they added.

The recovery of Zhengzhou's real estate market after several supportive policies is also a key factor in boosting local land demand and drawing more developers to invest. The area of properties available for sale in the city narrowed by more than 1.3 million sqm last year, the most in China, according to CRIC Research Center.

Many major cities have also seen fierce competition for certain plots since the start of this year. Shenzhen saw a premium of over 70 percent in a land auction late last month, while the rate reached 28 percent in Shanghai's first auction for the year. One plot in Hangzhou sold at a premium of 62 percent and another at 46 percent.

Some cities' land auction markets became active early this year, with multiple high-value plots sold, showing the spurring confidence in the real estate market, said Liu Shui, enterprise research director at the China Index Academy.

However, high-premium transactions do not necessarily indicate a change in the market's supply-demand dynamics, Liu noted. Developers' willingness and confidence in buying land mainly depend on accelerated property sales and price stabilization, Liu pointed out.

Editor: Martin Kadiev