The nation's land prices in eight major residential areas declined in 2001, a private-sector survey showed Wednesday.

Rates of fall ranged from 5.5 percent to 9.7 percent compared to the previous year.

Falls were less steep than the previous year in Tokyo and the Sapporo and Hiroshima areas due to a recent revival of interest among consumers for condominiums in cities.

In the remaining five areas, however, declines were larger than in the previous year, according to the real estate information center at Misawa Real estate & Development Corp., an affiliate of home builder Misawa Homes Co.

The center contacted 1,798 real estate companies across the nation and based the survey on prices as of Dec. 1 at 2,308 residential sites.

The center said most of the companies remain pessimistic on the outlook for the next 12 months, with 69.9 percent of those in the Tokyo metropolitan area and 74.3 percent of those in the Kinki region -- greater Osaka and Kyoto -- expecting prices to continue falling.

The survey results show price falls were most severe in the Kinki region, down 9.7 percent, marking the 12th consecutive yearly fall.

Land prices dropped 5.7 percent in the Tokyo metropolitan area, 6.3 percent in the Chukyo region covering Aichi, Gifu and Mie prefectures, and 5.5 percent in Fukuoka and its vicinity. Prices declined for the 11th consecutive year in the three areas.

Sapporo and surrounding locations experienced a 5.9 percent drop, Sendai and neighboring sites a 6.1 percent decline, and Hiroshima a fall of 7 percent. The Niigata area was down 8 percent.

"There were some demand-stimulating factors last year such as home-buyer tax breaks, but these were not enough to ease consumer concerns over taking huge housing loans amid the worsening employment situation," an official at the center said.