The frequent return of "land kings" has even seen private enterprises rumored to face severe financial troubles snapping up land parcels.
Recently, the land market has been shaken by a series of startling events, and "land kings" have emerged in clusters once again:
A new high in the premium rate in Nanjing in the past decade: On May 29th, Beigu Real Estate won the G16 plot in Xiaolingwei, Xuanwu District, Nanjing. After 90 rounds of bidding, the premium rate reached 50.24%, and the total transaction price was 308 million yuan, setting a new high in the premium rate of land auctions in Nanjing in the past 10 years, surpassing the G05 plot on Zhujiang Road in 2025 (43%). A Hangzhou-based enterprise has been extremely successful in Nanjing, clearly a dark horse.
A new high in the land auction premium rate in Hangzhou in 2026: On June 3rd, Greentown, in partnership with Hangzhou Metro, won the SC120401 - 04 plot in Jiubao Unit, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou. After 65 rounds of bidding, the total price was 2.074 billion yuan, the transaction floor price was 22,801 yuan per square meter, and the premium rate was 61.51%, setting a new high in the land auction premium rate in Hangzhou in 2026.
A new "unit - price land king" in Shenzhen: On June 5th, after nearly 300 rounds of bidding, a residential land in Yuehai Street, Nanshan District, was won by Poly Property Group for 5.772 billion yuan. The transaction floor price was as high as 108,680 yuan per square meter, and the premium rate was 150.74%, refreshing the historical record of the floor price of residential - related land in Shenzhen and becoming the new "unit - price land king" in Shenzhen. Surprisingly, the land - winning enterprise was not China Overseas, nor China Merchants, nor Poly Developments, nor China Resources Land. It was actually Poly Property Group, which shocked the industry.
A new "unit - price land king" in Qianhai: On June 12th, a residential land in the Guiwan area of Qianhai also experienced nearly 300 rounds of fierce competition and was finally won by C&D Real Estate for 3.525 billion yuan. The transaction floor price was about 95,918 yuan per square meter, and the premium rate reached 114%, becoming the new unit - price land king in the Qianhai area. This unit price is only second to the plot in Yuehai Street that was transacted on the 5th... C&D's strategy in recent years has been very clear. It aims to place the top - notch resources in the "heart" of core cities...
The land auction market is booming, with all kinds of enterprises vying for prime land. It's extremely lively. Will these startling events reverberate across the national real estate market?
Source: E - House Think Tank
Why do "land kings" appear in clusters at this time? This is not an accident but the result of the combined action of multiple factors:
The government: No more large - scale land supply, only offering the best. Many local governments have changed their land supply policies, shifting from "large - scale" to "small and high - quality". The land is in the core area, with mature supporting facilities, small in area (the Yuehai plot in Shenzhen is 14,100 square meters, the Qianhai plot is 11,900 square meters, and the G16 plot in Xiaolingwei is less than 10,000 square meters), in an excellent location, and the total price is controllable. Developers can afford it, and the pressure after getting the land will not be particularly great. Many governments have offered their best land. There has been no residential land for sale in Yuehai Street, Shenzhen, for nearly a decade, in the Xiaolingwei area of Nanjing for many years, and in the Nanmatou area of Shanghai for nearly a decade. Rarity is a hard currency. It's imaginable that once such land is available, enterprises will flock to it, and the land price will surely be pushed up.
Developers: No one dares to bet on the future, so they can only seize the present. The industry is still in pain, and the market is still at the bottom. In this situation, no one dares to blindly acquire land. The only "safe bet" is the core cities, core locations, and core supporting facilities, which can appreciate in value, have potential, have purchasing power, stable sales speed, and guaranteed profits. In addition, developers are also willing to acquire land in the middle of the year so that they can launch products within the year, without tying up funds and without delaying performance.
The policies have been relaxed, and developers are more daring. Taking Shenzhen as an example, after the "April 29th" real - estate policy was introduced, the purchase - restriction policy was optimized, and some high - end properties became popular. This has also given developers confidence to acquire prime land.
Central and state - owned enterprises dominate and take over the initiative. The industry has been in pain for 5 years. To be exact, since 2022, the pattern of land acquisition by various participants in the industry has changed. Most of the active private enterprises in the previous batch have basically withdrawn from the land auction market, while central and state - owned enterprises have become more active. So we can see that the main players in the land acquisition market have all become state - owned and central enterprises, such as Poly Developments, China Overseas Land & Investment, China Resources Land, Greentown China, C&D Real Estate... They are all competing fiercely, afraid that good land will be snatched by others. There are also enterprises like Poly Property Group, China State Construction & Development Real Estate, and Lianfa Group... These central and state - owned enterprises at this scale level seem to have entered a second sprint period, competing enthusiastically for land.
Poly Property Group has been the biggest surprise. In the past two months (May and June), the most unexpected thing is probably Poly Property Group. It acquired two plots in Shanghai and Shenzhen within a week, and set a new historical unit - price record in Shenzhen. On May 29th, after 112 rounds of bidding (111 rounds to reach the suspension price + 1 round), it won the Nanmatou plot in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, with a total price of 3.488 billion yuan, a transaction floor price of 82,062 yuan per square meter, and a premium rate of 40.04%. The strong competitors included 8 enterprises and consortiums such as Lujiazui, China Overseas, C&D, Jinmao, China Construction Eighth Engineering Division, Greentown, China Merchants Shekou & Nanshan & Ruicheng, and China Resources & Yuexiu. This is also the first residential land auctioned in Nanmatou in nearly a decade.
On June 5th, Poly Property Group went south to Shenzhen and strongly won the T204 - 0153 plot in Yuehai Street, Nanshan District. The participating enterprises at that time also included China Resources, China Overseas, China Merchants, C&D, and Yuexiu, all of which are top - 10 enterprises in the industry. Any one of them has a larger scale than Poly Property Group. Before the auction, many people probably didn't expect that Poly Property Group would finally win. This plot was bid for 297 rounds in the end, and the premium rate soared directly to 150.7%. The total price was 5.772 billion yuan, and the floor price was as high as 108,680 yuan per square meter, refreshing the historical record of the floor price of residential - related land in Shenzhen. What does this mean? This plot is the new unit - price land king in Shenzhen.
Why is Poly Property Group so bold? This is not a reckless gamble but a central enterprise showing its strength, accelerating into the core circle, and sprinting into the high - end real - estate track. Poly Property Group has performed well in recent years, with stable performance and good feedback on its projects. Its product lines such as the Jiadi Series, Yu Series, and Fu Series are flourishing. It also has the financial strength. Perhaps its current idea is to further enter the core of core cities and consolidate the position of its high - end product line, leaving a more significant mark in the long - term real - estate market. In the future, Poly Property Group's product strength will be tested. I wonder if it can live up to the expectations?
There is a new generation of private enterprises. Private enterprises are like weeds. When the spring breeze blows, they take root everywhere and thrive. After the painful baptism, few of the previous active private enterprises remain. Binjiang is an exception. It has been at the top of private enterprises for a long time. While sticking to Hangzhou, it has also started to expand to core cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing.
Most of the others are "new forces". Here, "new" has two meanings. One is that some enterprises have been established for a long time but have been deeply involved in local markets and kept a low profile. During the peak period of the industry, they didn't attract much attention. In the current market situation, their performance is quite eye - catching, such as Huilong in Harbin, Haicheng in Chongqing, Xingyao in Hangzhou, Jianhang Real Estate, and Beigu Real Estate. Even Weixing Real Estate, which was rumored to have a financial crisis, is also acquiring land. Everyone is seizing this opportunity in the industry competition to stabilize their position in the market.
The other type of "new" refers to enterprises established after the industry's painful period, with the original intention of building better houses for the people. For example, Hengchuang Group was established in 2021, and Zhongkun Real Estate was established in 2023. There is also Wuhan Dingyuan, which was established only 7 months ago in November 2025. The actual controller behind it is Fu Weiping. It is a real - estate development platform specially created by Sanhe Group, looking for a high - quality investment target. This is a transformation practice of a local service provider.
Dahua: Not acquiring land means waiting for death. I think many people have noticed Dahua Group, a private enterprise in Shanghai. It hasn't acquired land for a long time, and it doesn't have many projects. There are also many controversies about this enterprise, and some people thought it was on the verge of failure. On May 28th, it spent 3.655 billion yuan to acquire a plot in Pujiang Town, Minhang, Shanghai, which surprised many people. We think it's a bit unexpected but also reasonable for it to acquire land. As a private enterprise, it's really not easy to survive until now. Although there are many negative news, acquiring land is also an attempt to "survive". Not acquiring land is really just "waiting" aimlessly, which is no different from being numb. In a word, "Acquiring land still gives a chance to survive, while not acquiring land means certain death."
The last residential land auction in Pujiang Town dates back to 2024, and it was also Dahua that acquired the land at that time - Dahua Wangyue. This time, Dahua's land acquisition is also to consolidate its dominant position. If others break into its core area, its situation will be very passive. I wonder if it will live up to this prime land in the end?
The land kings are creating a lot of excitement. Developers are not gambling on a better tomorrow but on the visibility of core resources in the next few decades. Whether they are central enterprises, state - owned enterprises, or private enterprises, they "can't afford to lose and must win".
This article is from the WeChat official account "E - House Think Tank". Author: E - House Jun. Republished by 36Kr with permission.