What kind of land are real estate developers still acquiring after the new policy rolled out on August 28?
On August 28, the reform of the commercial housing sales system was officially implemented. The performance of the land auction market after the new policy has become a critical window for observing the market impact and changes in real estate enterprises' strategies.
In the first week after the new policy was implemented (from August 31 to September 6), the overall premium rate of the land market in key cities declined slightly, but some leading central state-owned enterprises still participated in the bidding and acquired high-quality plots in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an.
From the perspective of plots transacted in the first week, projects with relatively high premiums are mostly acquired by central state-owned enterprises with strong capital strength, which are mainly located in core sections of core cities, with strong regional scarcity and demand foundation, and are mostly low-floor ratio, low-density improved-type projects. Compared with ordinary projects, low-density projects have relatively low floors, and the individual development scale is usually relatively small, which is more conducive to controlling the construction pace and meeting the conditions for new presale or existing house sales faster. On this basis, the project can also partially hedge the capital occupation pressure brought by the promotion of existing house sales and the postponement of mortgage supply through product premium and strong sell-through expectation.
It should be noted that most of the plots transacted in the first week were announced in July, and the transfer conditions and real estate enterprises' investment plans were mostly formed before the new policy. The current market is still in the stage of new policy cognition and policy connection, and some local detailed rules and implementation calibers are yet to be clarified. The transfer conditions of newly announced plots in the follow-up, including the requirements for existing house sales and the payment arrangement of land transfer fees, as well as the corresponding transaction performance, still need continuous attention. The impact of the new policy on the land market is not only reflected in the changes in the willingness and ability of real estate enterprises to acquire land, but also gradually reflected in the recalibration of project safety margin, capital occupation and quotation ceiling.
In the first week after the new policy, the overall premium rate of 300 cities declined slightly, and first-tier cities contributed more than half of the land transfer fees
Chart: Trend of weekly residential land transfer fees and average premium rate in 300 cities
According to data from China Index Academy, in the first week after the implementation of the August 28 new policy (August 31 to September 6), the transacted planned construction area of residential land in 300 cities was 6.65 million square meters, the land transfer fee was 45 billion yuan, and the average premium rate was 5.3%, which was slightly lower than the weekly average level (8.9%) since the beginning of this year. By city tier, the land transfer fee of first-tier cities was 24.27 billion yuan, accounting for 54% of the total of 300 cities, while that of second-tier, third-tier and fourth-tier cities was around 10 billion yuan; in terms of premium rate, the average premium rate of first-tier cities was 7.3%, while that of second-tier, third-tier and fourth-tier cities was only about 3%.
Land auction in key cities is differentiated, and high-premium plots are concentrated in core sections
From the perspective of key cities, the performance of the land market in the first week after the new policy has shown differentiation. There are still residential plots transacted at premium in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, and the competition for some high-quality plots is still relatively fierce. On the whole, leading real estate enterprises with strong capital strength have not stopped investment due to the new policy, but the differentiation of land acquisition has further intensified. High-quality projects still require competition, while ordinary projects are more vulnerable to cautious investment sentiment.
From the transaction cases in the first week, plots with relatively high premium mainly present the following characteristics.
□ First, low-density improved plots are still attractive. The plot beside Wenyu River in Houshayu, Shunyi, Beijing was won by China Resources Land with 8.299 billion yuan, with a premium rate of 17.37%, a floor ratio of only 1.01, and a maximum building height of 27 meters. The Sijing plot in Songjiang District, Shanghai has a floor ratio of 1.2 and a maximum building height of 24 meters, which was won by the consortium of Frasers Property Investment and Guomao Real Estate with 582 million yuan, with a premium rate of 16.41%.
The advantages of low-density plots lie not only in that improved products are easier to form premiums, but also in that the number of building floors is relatively low, and the project development pace is easier to control, which is conducive to meeting the corresponding presale or existing house sales conditions faster and reducing the uncertainty of long-term capital occupation. Of course, low-density projects often correspond to higher total price per unit and narrower customer scope, which still needs strong improved demand and product sell-through capability as support.
□ Second, real estate enterprises continue to deeply cultivate in familiar areas, and the collaborative value of projects is more prominent. The Houshayu plot in Beijing won by China Resources Land is adjacent to its previously developed Beijing Runyuan project. Since the opening of Beijing Runyuan, a total of 353 units have been transacted, with the sell-through rate close to 90%. The sales performance of existing projects provides reference for the product positioning and price judgment of the new plot. China Overseas Land & Investment (COLI) acquired the plot in Qujiang New Area, Xi'an at a premium of 40.03%, which also continued its long-term layout in the core sections of Xi'an. Enterprises including Yuexiu Property and Ningbo Urban Construction Investment continued to acquire projects in their deeply cultivated areas such as Guangzhou and Ningbo respectively.
For real estate enterprises that are familiar with the local market and have existing project layouts, regional demand, customer structure, product positioning and development costs are relatively easier to judge. New projects can also inherit the brand influence, customer resources and development experience of existing projects, and some projects have contiguous development conditions, which helps to improve the overall development efficiency. Therefore, under the circumstance of more prudent capital use, real estate enterprises still have strong willingness to acquire high-quality plots in familiar areas.
□ Third, projects with relatively controllable total price and volume are more in line with the current investment rhythm. The total price of the Songjiang plot in Shanghai is 582 million yuan, the total price of the Qujiang plot in Xi'an is 804.5 million yuan, and the total transaction price of the plot in Yinzhou District, Ningbo is 1.06 billion yuan. Compared with large-volume and high-total-price projects, such plots have relatively low capital occupation, and the development and sales pace are easier to arrange, which is still the choice for some real estate enterprises to supplement land reserves and control investment risks.
On the whole, the differentiation of the land market in the first week after the implementation of the new policy has further deepened. Real estate enterprises' investment decisions are more focused on individual projects. Regional scarcity, product premium space, total project price, development cycle, regional collaboration capability and sell-through certainty jointly form the basis for real estate enterprises to pay premiums. High-premium plots are mostly acquired by central state-owned enterprises with strong capital strength or real estate enterprises with regional deep cultivation capabilities.
Typical Plot Overview
1. Plot beside Wenyu River in Houshayu, Shunyi, Beijing: Low-density attribute, existing project verification and contiguous development support China Resources to acquire land at premium
On September 3, after more than 170 rounds of bidding, China Resources Land won the plot beside Wenyu River in Houshayu Town, Shunyi District, Beijing with 8.299 billion yuan, with a premium rate of 17.37%, and the transaction floor price is about 40,600 yuan per square meter.
The planned construction area of this plot is about 204,000 square meters, the residential floor ratio is only 1.01, and the maximum building height is 27 meters, which belongs to a relatively scarce low-density improved residential land in Beijing in recent years. The low floor ratio and maximum building height provide space for the project to build low-density improved products; at the same time, the project has relatively low floors and relatively small individual development scale, which is conducive for real estate enterprises to control construction organization and development pace. Under the new regulations, it is also more conducive for the project to meet the corresponding presale or existing house sales conditions faster.
China Resources' land acquisition this time also has a strong regional collaboration foundation. China Resources has continued to deeply cultivate in the Houshayu section before, and the acquired plot is adjacent to its existing project Beijing Runyuan. Since the opening of this project, a total of 353 units have been transacted, with the sell-through rate close to 90%, and the products cover flat villas and courtyard villas. The sales performance of existing projects provides a relatively direct market reference for the customer demand, product positioning and price judgment of the new plot. At the same time, China Resources can use the brand influence, customer base and development experience of existing projects to improve the overall development efficiency through product combination and supporting collaboration between projects.
2. Plot east of Daguan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou: Conditions optimized after re-listing, Yuexiu supplements inventory in core section again
On September 4, after 18 rounds of bidding, Yuexiu Property won the plot east of Daguan Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou with 2.481 billion yuan, with a premium rate of 15.88%, and the transaction floor price is about 36,600 yuan per square meter. The planned construction area of this plot is about 67,800 square meters, with a floor ratio of about 2.1, adjacent to Daguan South Road Station of Metro Line 21, with good traffic conditions and development foundation for improved products.
The plot was previously terminated for transfer in May 2025. After this re-listing, the starting price was reduced from about 2.3 billion yuan to 2.141 billion yuan, and the supporting construction requirements for middle schools, kindergartens and community health service centers were cancelled, so the overall development conditions of the project were improved. The reduction of starting price and supporting construction has alleviated the pressure brought by capital occupation and rising development costs after the new policy to a certain extent.
At the same time, Yuexiu has a deep layout in this area, and the existing "Guanyue" series products have formed certain customer awareness. The subsequent plot can form product and customer inheritance with surrounding projects. For Yuexiu, regional deep cultivation can reduce the uncertainty of market judgment and project positioning, and the existing brand and development experience also help to improve the project sell-through certainty.
3. Plot QJ4-2-89, Qujiang New Area, Xi'an: No pure residential land supplied in core section for many years, COLI wins it at 40% premium
On September 2, after 24 rounds of bidding, the plot QJ4-2-89 in Qujiang New Area, Xi'an was won by China Overseas Land & Investment with 804.5 million yuan, with a premium rate of 40.03%, and the transaction floor price is 15,067 yuan per square meter. On the same day, a total of 7 plots were transferred in Xi'an, only this plot was transacted at premium, another 5 plots were transacted at base price, and 1 plot was cancelled, showing obvious differentiation of plot popularity.
This plot is located in the north zone of Qujiang CCBD, adjacent to Xi'an The Mixc and the under-construction Park Hyatt Hotel on the west side, and adjacent to high-end commercial and office clusters such as Daxia International Center and Qujiang International Conference Center on the east side, about 500 meters away from the TV Tower Station, the transfer station of Metro Line 2 and Line 8, with mature core location and surrounding supporting facilities. Since the land acquisition of Yuefu in 2018 and China Resources Yuexi in 2020, the north zone of Qujiang CCBD has lacked pure residential land supply for many years, and this plot has strong residential supply scarcity.
From the perspective of planning conditions, the floor ratio of the plot ranges from 1.2 to 2.5, which has development space for low-density improved products, and the planned construction area is about 53,400 square meters, with relatively controllable overall volume. The core location, scarce residential supply, expected improved products and moderate project size jointly support COLI to acquire the plot at high premium.
4. Low-density residential plot in Sijing Town, Songjiang District, Shanghai: Combination of low-density attribute and rail transit, consortium wins it with 582 million yuan
On August 31, a low-density residential plot in Sijing Town, Songjiang District, Shanghai completed the transfer, which was won by the consortium composed of Frasers Property Investment and Guomao Real Estate with 582 million yuan, with a premium rate of 16.41%. This plot has a floor ratio of 1.2 and a maximum building height of 24 meters, which has both low-density product development conditions and rail transit advantages, with a planned construction area of about 23,000 square meters, and the overall project scale is relatively small.
It is worth noting that this plot was jointly won by Frasers Property Investment and Guomao Real Estate. Acquiring land by consortium can not only share the pressure of land payment and subsequent development funds, but also help to give full play to the advantages of different enterprises in capital, product and development management. Under the current circumstance that real estate enterprises invest more prudently, the low-density attribute, rail transit conditions, moderate project scale and joint development mode jointly enhance the attractiveness of the plot to real estate enterprises. This land acquisition is another cooperation between Frasers Property Investment and Guomao Real Estate. The two parties previously cooperated to develop the Cuiyu Yuanshu project in Songjiang.
5. Plot in Zhenru Sub-center, Putuo, Shanghai: Transacted at base price of 15 billion yuan, residential floor price is lower than projects in the same section last year
On August 31, the combined plot in Zhenru Sub-center, Putuo, Shanghai completed the transfer, which was won by China Overseas Land & Investment with a base price of 15.019 billion yuan. This plot is composed of three sub-plots connected in a contiguous manner, with a total transfer area of about 11.92 hectares and a total planned construction area of about 397,000 square meters, including about 190,000 square meters of residential buildings and about 207,000 square meters of commercial and office buildings. Since only one real estate enterprise registered, the plot was finally transacted at base price, with a residential floor price of about 68,000 yuan per square meter.
From the comparison of regional land prices, the land market in Zhenru section previously had high popularity. The premium rates of plots transacted in the surrounding area in the past year all exceeded 10%. Among them, the plot of COLI · Huanyu Jiuzhang won by COLI in July 2025 has a residential floor price of about 72,400 yuan per square meter, with a premium rate of 14.17%; the plot of Cuigu Ruishi won by Shanghai Urban Construction in September 2025 has a residential floor price of about 79,300 yuan per square meter, with a premium rate of 12.79%. The residential floor price of this plot has a certain discount compared with the above projects, and COLI has existing project development experience in Zhenru, so it has certain cost and regional collaboration advantages after acquiring the plot at base price.
However, among the nearly 400,000 square meters of planned volume of CO