Seven parcels of land in Shanghai with a combined starting price of 5 billion yuan ($809 million) will be put up for auction by the end of April, according to data from Soufun.com, an information portal for the realty market.

A piece of land in the city's Qingpu district has proved the most popular with 33 qualified potential bidders, of which four have applied to enter the auction.

Analysts said larger developers are more willing to buy land. Developers still have concerns over future policies that may further tighten controls over the realty market, which may have an impact on bidding interest in the parcels.