Wuhan belatedly halts 29 billion yuan worth of land sales citing virus outbreak
- Wuhan Natural Resources and Planning Bureau suspends auctions for land worth about 29 billion yuan (US$4.1 billion) before bidding deadline
- Reason may be due to poor interest from developers amid lockdown and restrictions on home sales
Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the coronavirus epidemic, has suspended several land auctions worth about 29 billion yuan (US$4.1 billion) a day before the bidding deadline, citing “virus outbreak” for the move.
The Wuhan Natural Resources and Planning Bureau on Tuesday halted the sale of 10 plots of land with a combined reserve price of 10.5 billion yuan, according to a notice posted on its website. It followed a decision on Monday to hold off an auction for six plots worth 18.24 billion yuan.
The plots, with a combined area of 1.58 million square metres (17 million sq ft), were put up for sale in several stages since December 2, with all of them having the same closing date on February 19.
As the viral outbreak intensified, claiming more lives and spreading across two dozen countries, the bureau decided late last week to conduct the sales through an online process to curb viral transmission risks, before they were pulled altogether.
“We are not sure why they got cancelled suddenly, but one of the reasons could be that developers are showing little interest in them,” said Yan Yuejin, research director at E-house China Research and Development Institute. “Builders are facing a credit crunch. Why would they want to place big bets now as no construction and sales are being restricted.”