(Yicai Global) May 13 -- China's 50 biggest real estate firms have doubled their land purchase deals last month from a month earlier as the sector bounces back after the worst Covid-19 impact, according to an independent property research organization.

The top 10 property companies have splurged CNY240 billion (USD33.8 billion), making up 70 percent of the top 50's purchases, according to the China Index Academy.

As raising funds has become easier after the toughest Covid-19 period, some firms have shown increased interest in shopping for land with premium rates, China Securities Journal reported, citing Zhang Dawei, chief analyst at Hong Kong-based brokerage Centaline Property.

Moreover, prices have risen due to prime offerings. Regional governments have listed a limited number of valuable plots that involve good locations, close to educational and medical facilities, which should boost market confidence, said Guo Shiying, analyst at Zhuge Zhaofang Data Research Center.

One example is Xiamen where a plot was sold for CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion), a historic high, with a premium of almost 44 percent resulting in a price of CNY50,599 (USD7,136) per square meter, Zhang added.

But insiders didn't count this as overheating. Flour has not yet become more expensive than bread, said Lin Bo, research director of the CRIC Research Center. Prices are still within a reasonable range while land prices in third and fourth-tier cities could fall in the second half of the year, he added.

However, looking more closely shows how badly the virus epidemic hit the first months of the year. From January to April, the top 50 housing companies acquired CNY636 billion worth of land, down 14.1 percent from a year ago.

April was already much better. Over the month, the 50 largest firms spent CNY310.2 billion, rising 0.5 percent from a year ago. The tally for the top 100 was CNY388.2 billion, widening 7.2 percent from a year earlier.

China Evergrande, one of the largest developers, purchased areas worth CNY24 billion, and most of that in first-tier cities. The Shenzhen-based company had earlier said that its main goal for this year is to reduce its debt-to-asset ratio.

Editor: Emmi Laine