(Yicai) Aug. 8 -- A parcel of land in Shanghai has established a new record high price for a plot sold at auction in China, underscoring the ongoing popularity of land resources in major cities among real estate developers despite the depressed national property market.

The rights to develop the plot in downtown Xuhui district sold for CNY4.8 billion (USD668.6 million) yesterday, setting a record CNY130,000 (USD18,130) per square meter. After 72 rounds of bidding, Greentown China Holdings beat out six other builders, paying a 30 percent premium.

The auction smashed the previous record of CNY100,000 per sqm, set in August 2016, for a parcel of land in Shanghai's central Jing'an district.

The land Greentown bought is located in a luxury residential area, where almost all the homes have been selling well, said Lu Wenxi, a market analyst at Centaline Property Shanghai, adding that it was a coveted plot because the amount of land for development in the area is becoming scarcer.

In April, Hongkong Land began selling housing units in a project it developed in the area. Despite the high average sales price of CNY178,000 per sqm, the signup rate hit 235 percent, with no shortage of buyers.

Hangzhou-based Greentown may build a luxury housing project of large properties starting from CNY170,000 per sqm on the site, according to a sales person at another developer.

Xiaomi had bought the rights to develop the Xuhui plot for about CNY1.6 billion in October 2021, with the Chinese electronics giant planning to build a local headquarters there. However, it returned the rights to the land auctioneer in May after changing its plans. The parcel entered the market again this month after its designated use was changed from business to residential.

Greentown also acquired the rights to another last parcel in downtown Shanghai yesterday for about CNY1.2 billion, or CNY48,447 per sqm.

Greentown’s purchases demonstrate its bullish view of the city's property market, which aligns with its business model of developing premium residential properties, Lu noted.

Three other plots of land in Shanghai's suburbs were sold to state-owned companies at their starting prices in yesterday’s auction, fetching CNY10.9 billion (USD1.5 billion).

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev