The value of land sales in major cities increased sharply in the first half of the year as developers replenished land banks after a rebound in property sales since the end of last year. Figures from China Real Estate Information Corp show Hangzhou’s local government generated CNY60.13 billion from land sales over the past six months, 477% more than the CNY10.42 billion taken in the first half of last year. Property sales have been strong since the end of last year. Many developers have completed financing early this year, offering them sufficient capital to replenish land banks. In Guangzhou, the total value of land sales increased by 384% to CNY37.64 billion from a year ago, while Beijing’s land sales value surged 358% to CNY66.42 billion. Shanghai generated CNY74.23 billion from land sales, 297% more than in the previous year. The value of Shenzhen’s land sales jumped 274% to CNY11.16 billion. “Most of the developers are also shifting their acquisition targets from sites in second-tier cities to first-tier cities,” said Du Jinsong, Research Analyst at Credit Suisse. Local governments released more sites for sale in the first half. The Hangzhou government sold 30 sites in the past six months, compared with only 19 in the previous year. Shanghai released 55 sites, compared with 44 sites a year ago. Dickson Wong, Chief Executive at Centaline (China) for northern and southwest China, believes land supply would stay at high levels in the second half and land prices would continue to rise in major cities, the South China Morning Post reports.