BEIJING -- Revenues from land sales in China's major cities dropped nearly fifty percent in the first two months of this year, as the real estate market correction deepens with dropping prices and continuing government restrictions, industry statistics showed Friday.

According to the Centaline Group, a large real estate brokerage firm, land sales in 13 major cities stood at 66 billion yuan in January and February, down 47.5 percent from the same period last year.

The Spring Festival is one of the reasons for the sluggish property sales in January, industry analysts said, as sales rose 16 percent in February, according to Centaline statistics.