Chinese land sales were mixed in the first half of the year depending on the type of market: tier-one locations reported declines in revenues during the period, while second-tier cities saw land sales go up. Total land sales revenues for 300 cities surveyed amounted to CNY652.98 billion in the first six months of this year, representing a drop of 38% compared with the first half of 2011, according to a report by China Index Academy, one of the China’s largest property research institutes. Beijing and Shanghai saw the biggest declines in land sale revenues during the period. Shanghai’s revenue fell 62.77% to CNY18.42 billion. The decline sees Shanghai’s ranking slip from top place last year to the ninth in terms of total land sales revenues this year. Analysts said the decline in major cities was partly due to too few sites being offered for sale. On the other hand, land sales were active in second-tier cities. Chongqing topped that list with total sales up 20% to CNY37.94 billion in the first six months of this year, compared with the same period in 2011. It was followed by Wuhan, which had land sales revenues of CNY31.7 billion. According to China Index Academy, the total number of government sites launched for sale dropped 19% in the first half of 2012, while residential sites dropped 32% between January and June.