Developers 'lose the plot' as property sales plunge

The chill in the property market has cooled developers' interest in acquiring new sites, pushing local governments' land sale revenue down sharply.

According to brokerage Centaline Property Agency Ltd's market research, 20 major developers have spent 182.5 billion yuan ($29.7 billion) so far this year to purchase sites, down 38 percent year-on-year.

"Worsening property sales have undercut the willingness of developers to buy land. Their focus now is on raising cash from the sales of what they've already built. Few are in the mood to buy more land," said Zhang Dawei, director of the market research team.