FIVE lots of land outside the special economic zone were up for auction Tuesday, but only one was sold at the opening price.

The five parcels of land, three in Bao’an and two in Longgang, were all for residential development, yesterday’s Daily Sunshine reported.

A shortage of bidders was blamed for the failed auctions.

The 101,357.86-square-meter lot, G02113-0023, was sold for 690 million yuan (US$97 million) to Shenzhen Zhenye Group Co. Ltd. Located to the south of the intersection of Baohe Road and Shahe Road in Longgang District, the lot has a total construction area of 243,259 square meters with a floor price of 2,836 yuan per square meter.

Apartments smaller than 90 square meters should account for more than 90 percent of the apartments built on the land lots up for auction, according to the auction notice.

Gao Haiyan, an official with the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, said a capital crunch faced by property developers was the main reason for the failed land sales. The sluggish property market, coupled with new restrictions on the time limits of property development, also helped dampen developers’ enthusiasm in purchasing new land lots, Gao said. (Eunice Kang)