Premium Land Auctions Hit Record Levels Across China’s Prime Metropolitan Areas

According to Securities Daily reports, residential land auctions across China’s major tier-one and core tier-two cities have registered markedly stronger trading momentum in recent weeks, with numerous high-value plots secured via hundreds of rounds of competitive bidding, setting new all-time floor price benchmarks for their respective districts and entire cities.

A landmark residential plot in Guiwan, Qianhai of Shenzhen, went under the hammer on 12 June, drawing nine leading national property developers including C&D Real Estate Group Co., Ltd, China Resources Land Limited, China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings Co., Ltd and Poly Development Holdings Group Co., Ltd to compete for the site. After almost 300 successive bidding rounds, C&D Real Estate claimed the land parcel with a total consideration of RMB 3.525 billion. The transaction carried a premium rate of 114.29 per cent, with a floor price of RMB 95,918 per square metre, breaking the existing price record for residential land within Qianhai.

Senior analysts at China Index Academy Shenzhen branch stated that Guiwan stands as Qianhai’s most fully developed central financial headquarters district. Only two pure residential land parcels have been released via public tender in the past five years, creating acute scarcity of prime residential development space. The newly auctioned plot boasts a larger land area and regular layout, affording substantial scope for high-end residential construction, which fuelled intense competition among bidders throughout the tender process.

Suzhou’s land market has delivered equally outstanding auction results. A residential site on the eastern shore of Jinji Lake within Suzhou Industrial Park attracted seven developers to submit bids. Following 74 rounds of price rises, China Overseas Development (Suzhou) Co., Ltd sealed the deal at RMB 1.688 billion, delivering a record provincial residential land floor price of RMB 68,920 per square metre on a 30.04 per cent premium.

Beijing’s Fengtai District also saw heated competition during a land tender held on 19 May. A residential plot in Taipingqiao changed hands after 151 bidding rounds, acquired by Poly Development Holdings Group for RMB 4.1544 billion at a 15.4 per cent premium, marking a new floor price high for the local subdistrict at roughly RMB 66,700 per square metre.

The upswing in metropolitan land transaction activity coincides with accelerated land replenishment strategies rolled out by national leading developers. Poly Development Holdings Group has stepped up site acquisitions across Shanghai, Beijing, Hefei, Zhengzhou and Guangzhou in recent weeks. On 15 June, the firm secured a plot within Guangzhou Baiyun District’s Design Capital zone with a RMB 1.35 billion bid, corresponding to a premium rate of 23.9 per cent. Corporate disclosures released on 12 June show the developer has deployed approximately RMB 7.7 billion on new land purchases within a single month starting from 12 May, reflecting markedly expanded capital allocation to land reserves.

Other major listed property firms have ramped up investment in core urban markets in tandem. China Resources Land Limited published operational updates on 12 June confirming three new land acquisitions across Shenzhen, Tangshan and Chengdu in May, covering a total gross floor area of 600,700 square metres with attributable equity consideration reaching RMB 8.72 billion. A large integrated commercial and residential complex project in Dayun, Longgang District of Shenzhen accounts for over eighty per cent of this total equity outlay at RMB 7.045 billion.

Market observations collated from multiple land auctions signal broad recognition among national developers of the intrinsic value attached to premium land assets in central urban zones, per analysis published in Securities Daily. Every high-premium plot transacted recently features prime geographical positioning, robust industrial support frameworks, comprehensive public amenities and concentrated demand for high-specification upgraded residential housing stock.

Sustained implementation of supportive housing market policies continues to stabilise consumer sentiment, while state-backed initiatives to construct higher-quality residential stock expand supply of premium upgraded homes. Land parcels located within central metropolitan zones will retain powerful appeal for property developers in the months ahead, with investor confidence set to recover further and the structural warming trend across national land tender platforms maintained. Major developers will keep optimising their regional land portfolios by prioritising high-quality central city plots to align with shifting residential consumption patterns.