China’s land market is heating up again in September as policy support boosts expectations and high-quality plots enter the market. Private developers are showing stronger appetite for acquisitions, marking a rebound in confidence and signaling the emergence of a new competitive landscape alongside central and state-owned enterprises.
On September 16, a low-density commercial and residential land parcel was sold in Xinchang County, Shaoxing City. The plot had a floor area ratio of 1.2 and a building area of 47,000 square meters. After seven hours and over 300 bidding rounds, Shaoxing Liancheng Real Estate, a local property developer, won the parcel at a total price of 320 million yuan, with a transaction floor price of 6,813 yuan per square meter and a premium rate of 12.14%.
On the same day, Chengdu and Hangzhou each had two parcels sold at a premium, generating 2.612 billion yuan and 2.123 billion yuan, respectively.
Some institutions noted that recent land auctions in key cities show two main characteristics: high-quality plots continue to be launched, with some plots re-listed after planning adjustments, and private developers’ enthusiasm for acquiring land has increased.
Private Developers’ Enthusiasm Rises
Since September, China’s land market have become active again, with land auctions in the Yangtze River Delta and the Greater Bay Area particularly active.
On September 8, a land parcel for resettlement housing in Wanjiang Subdistrict, Dongguan City, Guangdong province, was sold after 100 bidding rounds for a total price of 377 million yuan. The winning bidder was Anhui Huacheng Zhuli Construction Investment, which is 100% controlled by Shanghai Guoxin Ze’an Industrial Development.
On September 9, a plot in Donghong South District, Yongkang City, Zhejiang province, was sold after 109 bidding rounds, with a local private developer, Jinhua Tingjian Real Estate, acquiring it for 260 million yuan at a premium rate of 72.19%.
On September 15, a residential land parcel in Yiwu City was sold for 246 million yuan. The plot was won after 72 bidding rounds by a local private developer, Yiwu Yingtai Real Estate Co., Ltd., at a premium rate of 40.54%.
In key first- and second-tier cities, land auctions have also maintain high activity. On September 4, Shanghai concluded its seventh batch of land auctions for 2025, with five plots generating 11.116 billion yuan in total, of which three were sold at a premium and two at reserve prices. The following day, Beijing offered two residential-related plots in Fengtai District and Chaoyang District, both sold at reserve price, generating 3.346 billion yuan.
On September 16, Chengdu and Hangzhou each had two plots sold at a premium, generating 2.612 billion yuan and 2.123 billion yuan, respectively. The next day, Chengdu sold two more residential plots for a total of 1.273 billion yuan.
A person in charge of a central state-owned developer in Beijing said that the plots offered are mostly of good quality, many with obvious location advantages, and many are pure residential plots, which is favorable for development and subsequent sales.
Notably, many localities have adjusted the planning of plots that failed to sell and re-listed them. A plot in Beijing’s Chaoyang District, scheduled to be sold on September 30, was re-listed after planning adjustments, changing from a mixed-use residential and public building plot to a purely residential plot, reducing development difficulty and significantly increasing market attention.
Increased enthusiasm among private developers is another feature of land auctions. In the previously mentioned hot land transactions in Shaoxing, Yongkang, and Yiwu, the winners were all private developers. Among the two plots sold in Chengdu on September 16, one was won by Longfor Group. Among the two plots sold in Hangzhou, one was acquired by a local private developer, Xingyao Real Estate.
In addition, Bangtai Real Estate, a private developer active in the central and western regions, acquired a residential plot in Suining City, Sichuan Province, on September 16. Half a month earlier, Bangtai had just acquired two plots in Chengdu.
New Competitive Pattern Taking Shape
The warming of the land market is driven by improved expectations due to favorable policies. Since August this year, many regions have introduce policies to stabilize the housing market. In particular, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have issued new policies, with a more significant guiding effect.
On the other hand, after deep market adjustments, the land market is becoming more attractive in terms of value for money.
“Compared with the boom a few years ago, the current land is ‘good value for money,’” said a developer. At present, there is an abundant supply of pure residential land, with small scales of supporting affordable housing and public buildings, which is favorable for development and sales, especially for designing “good houses.”
In terms of price, except for core areas in first-tier cities, prices will not be excessively high. “Developers are rational and calculate costs.”
This year, developers’ willingness to replenish land reserves has been strong, and the total land acquisition amount has increased significantly year-on-year. According to data compiled by real estate research firm China Index Academy, from January to August 2025, the top 100 companies’ total land acquisition amounted to 605.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28%.
Among them, eight of the top ten companies by land acquisition amount are central or state-owned enterprises. Some private developers also show some investment intensity, such as Hangzhou Binjiang Real Estate Development Group ranking among the top ten in land acquisition amount, while Bangtai Group and Dahua Group are among the top twenty.
China Index Academy noted that the current land market recovery is driven by many cities launching high-quality land in core areas, with developers seizing favorable conditions to accelerate replenishment. Specifically, C&D Real Estate, China Jinmao, Hangzhou Binjiang Real Estate, and Poly Real Estate have land-to-sales ratios exceeding 50%, showing strong land acquisition willingness, with Binjiang’s ratio even exceeding 100%.
It also noted that central and state-owned enterprises have maintained a certain level of investment in recent years, reserving some high-quality land, and their market share may increase in the short term, while in the long term, the market share of private developers will stop declining and rebound, maintaining a relatively balanced state with state-owned enterprises.
However, unlike the frequent “close battles” in the past, these two types of developers are now forming a new competitive pattern.
In recent years, many leading developers have reduced their market scope, choosing to strategically withdraw from third- and fourth-tier cities and focus on a few key first- and second-tier cities. In contrast, private developers are more likely to choose non-core cities and non-core areas of key cities for their layout.
According to China Index Academy, from January to August this year, eight developers had land acquisition amounts exceeding 20 billion yuan, of which four acquired most of their land in Beijing, two in Hangzhou, and one each in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
It noted that considering the relatively high land prices in core cities, the market in hotspot first- and second-tier cities may mainly be occupied by large central or state-owned enterprises and a small number of large private developers, while third- and fourth-tier cities will be divided among numerous local small- and medium-sized enterprises.