How has the property market fared in the past six months?
On July 1st, developers ended their intense "June 30th sprint," and various institutions have successively released their semi - annual data. It can be seen that there have been some positive changes in the real estate market in the first half of the year.
01
Three "100 - billion Real Estate Enterprises"
According to data from the China Index Academy, in the first half of this year, the cumulative sales of the top 100 real estate enterprises were approximately 1.58636 trillion yuan. The year - on - year decline rate narrowed by 1.3 percentage points compared with that from January to May, and it has been narrowing for four consecutive months. In June alone, the full - caliber sales of 100 real estate enterprises increased by 11.8% month - on - month.
Poly Developments and Holdings Group Co., Ltd., China Overseas Land & Investment Limited, and China Resources Land Limited have entered the "100 - billion camp." Their full - caliber sales were 135.1 billion yuan, 134.35 billion yuan, and 116.5 billion yuan respectively. Vanke's cumulative sales were 35.02 billion yuan, dropping to the 10th place. Statistics show that the sales of enterprises such as China Overseas Land & Investment Limited, China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings Co., Ltd., and China Jinmao Holdings Group Limited increased by about 10% year - on - year, and the year - on - year growth rates of enterprises such as Beijing Urban Construction Group Co., Ltd. and Lianfa Group Co., Ltd. exceeded 20%.
According to the monitoring of Yihan Think Tank, about 40% of more than a hundred real estate enterprises had a month - on - month increase in single - month sales. Among them, the sales of 5 enterprises increased by more than 100% month - on - month. Enterprises such as Poly Developments and Holdings Group Co., Ltd., China Overseas Land & Investment Limited, China Jinmao Holdings Group Limited, Yuexiu Property Company Limited, Binjiang Group Co., Ltd., and Greenland Group Co., Ltd. achieved both year - on - year and month - on - month increases in single - month sales. China Overseas Land & Investment Limited had the highest single - month sales of 31.35 billion yuan, with a month - on - month increase of 15%. China Construction Yipin's single - month sales were 9.18 billion yuan, with a month - on - month increase of up to 125%.
02
New Home Prices in First - Tier Cities Are Still Rising
Data from the China Index Academy shows that in June, the average price of newly built residential buildings in 100 cities across the country was 17,184 yuan per square meter. Among them, the prices of newly built residential buildings in first - tier cities increased by 0.27% month - on - month and 5.11% year - on - year.
Since the beginning of this year, the supply of new homes in first - tier cities has continued to tilt towards improved and "good - quality" products in core areas. In the first half of the year, according to statistics from the China Index Academy, 45.5% of the sales performance of 20 representative real estate enterprises came from first - tier cities, an increase of 5.8 percentage points compared with the same period last year.
Li Yujia, the chief researcher of the Guangdong Housing Policy Research Center, analyzed that in first - tier cities, both rigid - demand and improved - demand homebuyers are relatively concentrated. There are many new urban residents and young people. The urbanization process started early, and the aging degree of existing housing is high. The demand for new urban residents to buy their first homes and for old urban residents to change their homes is also relatively concentrated.
At the same time, the industrial structure transformation in first - tier cities is relatively fast. For example, high - tech manufacturing accounts for more than 30% of the industrial added value in Shenzhen and Shanghai, and there is a strong purchasing power for improved new homes. In addition, after the adjustment from 2022 to 2025, especially in 2025 when the housing prices in first - tier cities dropped the most, potential demand has been released. Moreover, the past strict regulations in first - tier cities have led to a shortage of truly high - quality "good - quality" homes.
03
Large Homes over 200 Square Meters Are Selling Better and Better
Statistics from the China Index Academy show that among the sales of representative enterprises in different area segments in the first half of the year, the sales of projects in the 90 - 140 square - meter segment for first - time home improvement accounted for 40.8%, the highest proportion, and it is still the current main product.
However, the sales of high - end projects over 200 square meters accounted for 25.3%, an increase of 10.9 percentage points year - on - year, with the fastest growth rate. The proportions of other area segments have all decreased.
Li Yujia analyzed that the fastest growth in the sales of homes over 200 square meters is due to two reasons. On the one hand, the land supply in hot cities has shifted to the central areas, and good land parcels that have not been auctioned for many years have been put up for auction to meet the land - acquisition demands of developers and capture the demand of high - end buyers for good products. On the other hand, there is indeed a shortage of good - quality homes in hot cities.
Especially under the strict regulations in the past ten years, such as the 90/70 policy and the construction of affordable housing, there are indeed not many "good - quality" homes under high - density and high - volume - rate conditions. Now these demands have been released.
The 90 - 144 square - meter segment still accounts for the largest proportion because there are many new urban residents and young people in hot cities. Rigid - demand and first - time home - improvement buyers are still the main force in terms of quantity, and the demand for marriage often prefers new homes.
04
The Online Sign - up Volume of Second - Hand Homes Remains at a High Level
In terms of second - hand residential homes, according to the China Index Academy, in June, the prices of second - hand residential homes in first - tier, second - tier, and third - and fourth - tier cities decreased by 0.16%, 0.46%, and 0.48% month - on - month respectively. The month - on - month decline rate in first - tier cities increased by 0.01 percentage points compared with the previous month. Among them, Shanghai's prices continued to rise, with a month - on - month increase of 0.10%, and Shenzhen's prices increased slightly by 0.03%. The month - on - month decline rates in second - tier and third - and fourth - tier cities increased by 0.12 and 0.10 percentage points respectively compared with the previous month.
Year - on - year, the prices in first - tier, second - tier, and third - and fourth - tier cities decreased by 6.95%, 8.21%, and 7.48% respectively.
Monthly prices and month - on - month changes of second - hand residential homes in 100 cities
In terms of transaction volume, data from the official website of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban - Rural Development shows that in June 2026, the online sign - up volume of second - hand residential homes in Beijing was 16,618 units, a month - on - month increase of 4.0% and a year - on - year increase of 9.8%.
The online sign - up volume of second - hand residential homes in Beijing in June was the highest level in the same period in the past five years. In the first half of the year, the online sign - up volume of second - hand residential homes in Beijing was 93,583 units, a year - on - year increase of 5.7%, also the highest level in the same period in the past five years.
Data from the Leyoujia Research Center shows that in the first half of 2026, the total online sign - up volume of first - and second - hand residential homes in Shenzhen exceeded 47,000 units, a month - on - month increase of 10%. Among them, the online sign - up volume of second - hand residential homes was 28,962 units, a month - on - month increase of 7%.
Meanwhile, the sign - up volumes of first - and second - hand residential homes in Shenzhen in the first half of the year both reached new semi - annual highs in the past six years. Among them, the sign - up volume of first - hand residential homes in stores increased by 84% month - on - month and 60% year - on - year. The sign - up volume of second - hand residential homes increased by 20% month - on - month and 17% year - on - year.
05
At Least 14 "Land Kings" in Terms of Unit Price in Different Plates
According to the China Index Academy, the land market in the first half of the year continued the feature of "reducing quantity and improving quality." Real estate enterprises' land - acquisition activities further concentrated in core cities, and the land auctions in Shenzhen and Hangzhou were relatively hot.
In June, a few hot cities such as Shenzhen and Hangzhou auctioned land parcels with high premium rates. Driven by the high - premium transactions of core land parcels, the average premium rate of 300 cities reached 17.4%, a new high in the past year.
The average premium rate of residential land in 300 cities from 2023 to June 2026
Data from CRIC shows that in the first half of the year, the average premium rate of residential - related land in 15 typical cities reached 13.23%, and it climbed to 30.13% in June alone.
In the first half of the year, the average premium rate in first - tier cities was 14.7%, and it jumped to 63.39% in June alone, significantly higher than the average level of core cities, becoming the core driving force for this round of high - premium market.
According to the statistics of Ding Zuyu's Real Estate Review, in the land auction market of 36 first - and second - tier cities this year, at least 14 "land kings" in terms of unit price in different plates have been auctioned, involving cities such as Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, and Guangzhou.
Shenzhen is the benchmark city for the hot land auction in this round. On June 5th, a residential land parcel in Yuehai Street, Nanshan District, after 291 rounds of bidding, was won by Poly Property Group Co., Ltd. at a price of 5.772 billion yuan, with a premium rate of 150.74%. The transaction floor price was 108,700 yuan per square meter, refreshing the historical record of the unit - price floor price of residential land in Shenzhen, 29% higher than the previous "land king" in 2025.
The unit - price "land kings" in different plates in Hangzhou have also been continuously refreshed. On June 26th, 12 real estate enterprises competed for a land parcel in the Yongjiu River Unit, Binjiang District, Hangzhou. After 243 rounds of bidding, the final floor price reached 51,600 yuan per square meter, refreshing the unit - price record of the Changhe Plate and setting a new high for the floor price of residential land in Hangzhou in the first half of the year.
In Suzhou, the "ceiling" of the floor price of residential - related land is also rising. On May 29th, a residential land parcel by the Jinji Lake in the Suzhou Industrial Park was won by China Overseas with a 30% premium after 74 rounds of bidding. The floor price reached 69,000 yuan per square meter, not only becoming the unit - price "land king" in Suzhou but also the residential land parcel with the highest floor price in the entire Jiangsu Province.
Regarding the Real Estate Market Regulation in the First Half of the Year
First, focusing on "controlling the increment, reducing the inventory, and optimizing the supply," local governments have started to reduce land supply. They decide whether to auction land according to the de - stocking cycle of existing new homes in different areas. At the same time, land supply avoids homogeneous competition and low - level supply, but instead uses high - quality "good - quality" homes to stimulate and drive demand.
In terms of reducing inventory, in addition to various traditional sales - promotion measures, local governments have frequently promoted the "old - for - new" policy with relatively large efforts. State - owned enterprises and urban investment companies in many places have purchased second - hand homes, which has also stimulated the enthusiasm of residents to change their homes.
Second, continue to reduce the cost and threshold of home - buying. For example, the policies of the housing provident fund have been strengthened. In hot cities such as Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Beijing, and Guangzhou, the maximum loan amount of the housing provident fund has been raised to about 3 million yuan. At the same time, the housing provident fund can be both withdrawn and loaned, and its usage scenarios have been expanded (such as for property management fees, major repairs and renovations, and elevator installation).
Third, the concept of "good - quality" homes has been corrected. Observing the orderly development of "good - quality" homes proposed by the state, local governments have corrected the illegal behaviors of "good - quality" homes in building regulations, put an end to vicious competition, and guided the improvement of the quality of "good - quality" homes in terms of floor - plan design, function improvement, community services, friendliness to all age groups, and supporting facilities.
The tone of the state's rescue of the real estate market has also changed, and urban renewal has been actively promoted. The state has allocated financial subsidy funds and investment funds within the development and reform budget for underground pipe networks and the renovation of old communities, with the focus on restoring the use value of homes and thus stabilizing the price basis of homes.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Meijing Real Estate." Author: Meijing Real Estate. Republished by 36Kr with permission.