Why does the popularity of land auctions in core cities repeatedly hit new highs?

Since May, the enthusiasm for land auctions in core cities has repeatedly reached new highs.

In Shenzhen, the premium rate has exceeded 100% for two consecutive weeks. In Shanghai, there were "uncapped" bidding for two consecutive days. In Hangzhou, the average premium rate exceeded 40%, and the premium rate of a single plot exceeded 60%. In Suzhou, the record of the floor price in Suzhou and Jiangsu Province was refreshed. High - premium plots also appeared in Nanjing, Wuhan and other places...

According to incomplete statistics, since 2026, about 33 residential - included plots in 37 first - and second - tier cities have a transaction premium rate of more than 30%, of which about 18 were transacted from May till now.

These high - premium transacted plots mainly have the following characteristics:

1. Residential plots entering the market after years of supply interruption

2. Low - density plots in core areas

3. Some pre - project plans have been adjusted

Against the background of strict control of land increment in various places, the total transaction volume of the land auction market in the first five months still showed a decline. However, with the increase in the proportion of high - quality plots, the land auctions in various places continued to show a spot - like recovery.

It is expected that core cities will continue to focus on the supply of high - quality and low - density residential plots in the future. Coupled with the release of policy dividends for urban renewal, the confidence of real estate enterprises, mainly state - owned central enterprises, in acquiring land will be steadily restored. The enthusiasm for residential plots in core areas will remain high. The conversion of commercial land to residential land and the redevelopment of low - efficiency stock land will become an important supplement to the supply, and the overall investment certainty of the land market will be further strengthened.

01

On June 12, the auction of a residential plot in Guiwan, Qianhai, Shenzhen, once again heated up the land auction market. With 300 rounds of bidding, a premium rate of 114%, and a floor price of 96,000 yuan per square meter, it refreshed the record of the highest unit - price land in Qianhai, making it another hot spot in Shenzhen's land auction.

One week ago, on June 5, a special bidding rule of "no upper limit, bidding for land price, and the highest bidder wins" was adopted for a residential plot in Nanshan, Shenzhen. After 291 rounds of bidding, it finally shocked the market with a premium rate of 150.74%. The floor price reached as high as 108,680 yuan per square meter, far exceeding the old record of 84,200 yuan per square meter held by a plot in Guiwan, Qianhai in 2025, and refreshed the highest record of the floor price of residential - related land in Shenzhen, becoming the new highest - unit - price land in Shenzhen.

Not only in Shenzhen, from May 28th to 29th, in Shanghai's fourth centralized land auction, plots triggered the suspension price for two consecutive days and entered the high - quality bidding stage. Then they reached the high - quality upper limit and entered the second - round "uncapped" bidding, and finally the highest bidder won. This is a grand occasion that has not been seen for several consecutive years.

On June 3rd, Hangzhou centrally auctioned four residential - related plots, covering mature residential areas and new urban development areas. The average premium rate of the four auctioned residential - related plots reached 41.9%. Among them, the premium rate of a plot in the Jiubao unit of Shangcheng District was as high as 61.51%, setting a new high for the premium rate in Hangzhou's land auction market this year.

In addition, on May 29th, a residential plot in the east of Jinji Lake in Suzhou Industrial Park went through 74 rounds of bidding. The final transaction price was 1.68836 billion yuan, equivalent to a floor price of 68,920 yuan per square meter, with a premium rate of 30.04%, refreshing the record of the floor price in Suzhou and Jiangsu Province. Plot P(2026)029 in Wuchang, Wuhan, also went through 33 rounds of bidding and was finally transacted at 802.2 million yuan, equivalent to a floor price of about 21,110.5 yuan per square meter, with a premium rate of 31.04%.

From the perspective of these high - premium and hot plots auctioned recently, most of these plots are located in the core areas of the city, and there has been a supply interruption in these areas for many years or there are few on - sale projects in the area, resulting in an obvious supply gap. Some plots also have the "low - density" attribute, which has pushed up the value of the plots.

It is worth noting that some of these plots are those after plan adjustment. For example, for the two plots in Shanghai that entered the second - round "uncapped" bidding, a residential plot in Pujiang Town, Minhang was converted from commercial and service land to residential land, and a plot in Nantou, Pudong was optimized from original commercial land to commercial - residential land. The residential plot in the east of Jinji Lake in Suzhou Industrial Park was also converted from commercial land to residential land. It is a typical example of supplementing residential supply by revitalizing stock construction land.

02

CRIC data shows that from January to May 2026, about 33 residential - included plots in 37 first - and second - tier cities had a transaction premium rate of more than 30%, among which about 14 were transacted in May alone and 4 from June till now.

It can be seen that since May, high - premium plots in first - and second - tier cities have been transacted intensively, and the enthusiasm is significantly higher than in other months.

On the one hand, after the "small spring" in March and April, the enthusiasm was maintained in May, and market confidence was somewhat restored, which increased the enthusiasm of real estate enterprises to acquire land. On the other hand, it is also affected by the concentrated entry into the market of advantageous plots in core areas under the strategy of "controlling increment and optimizing supply".

Data shows that in 2026, the planned supply scale of residential land nationwide decreased by 21% year - on - year, which has been a year - on - year decrease of about 20% for three consecutive years.

Among them, the total planned supply of residential land in the four first - tier cities was 1,758 hectares, a year - on - year decrease of 25%. The supply of commercial residential land was 1,274 hectares, a slight year - on - year increase of 2%, which is the only positive growth in commercial residential land among all levels.

There was a slight differentiation in the land supply rhythm within second - tier cities. The supply of residential land at the municipal level was 1,630 hectares, a year - on - year decrease of 22%. The supply of commercial residential land was 1,109 hectares, a year - on - year decrease of 21%. The supply of residential land in the counties under the jurisdiction was 487 hectares, a year - on - year decrease of 16%. The supply of commercial residential land was 371 hectares, a year - on - year decrease of 14%.

The difference in the decline rate between the municipal level and the county level in third - and fourth - tier cities is greater than that in second - tier cities. The supply of residential land at the municipal level was 3,013 hectares, a year - on - year decrease of 26%. The supply of commercial residential land was 2,848 hectares, a year - on - year decrease of 25%. The supply of residential land in the counties under the jurisdiction was 7,001 hectares, a year - on - year decrease of 18%. The supply of commercial residential land was 6,535 hectares, a year - on - year decrease of 13%.

It is precisely under the strategy of "controlling increment" implemented by various cities since 2026 that the overall land auction market has continued the downward trend of transactions. According to statistics, in May 2026, the transaction floor area of commercial land through public bidding, auction and listing nationwide was 21.78 million square meters, a month - on - month decrease of 5% and a year - on - year decrease of 27%. The transaction amount was 67.2 billion yuan, a month - on - month increase of 9%, but still a year - on - year decrease of 20%.

On the one hand, the overall land transaction scale has decreased under the "control of increment". On the other hand, under the "optimized supply" of high - quality plots in core cities, some high - quality plots have been contested, resulting in spot - like high heat. This has formed the current differentiated pattern of the land market. This trend will continue in the future.

Combined with the recent policy trends, in May, multiple central ministries and commissions issued documents intensively. The State Council Executive Meeting deployed key tasks for urban renewal, the Ministry of Housing and Urban - Rural Development promoted the annual urban physical examination work, and the Ministry of Finance announced the list of selected urban renewal projects, clarifying that land indicators and financial resources should be tilted towards cities with population inflows and encouraging the revitalization of idle housing and low - efficiency land. It is expected that core cities will continue to focus on the supply of high - quality and low - density residential plots, and the enthusiasm for residential plots in core areas will continue to remain high.

From the land auction calendar of key cities in the next two weeks, there are still many highlights in the land auction market. There are already "pre - booked" hot plots in Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, etc., and the "land king" record in 2026 may be refreshed again.

Appendix: Land auction calendar for June

This article is from the WeChat official account "Ding Zuyu's Review of the Real Estate Market", author: Editorial Department. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.