In the first half of the year, nearly 30 of the top 100 real estate companies achieved year-on-year growth in sales performance. Among them, China Energy Engineering City Development saw its sales increase by 166% year-on-year, while Xiamen C&D and China Railway Group posted growth of over 30%. China Jinmao and Kingkey Group recorded approximately 20% growth, Huafa Properties and Sino-Ocean Group saw increases of more than 10%, and Yuexiu Property, Xiamen C&D Real Estate, and Xiangyu Group achieved growth close to 10%.
Liu Shui, Director of Corporate Research at the China Index Academy, analyzed in a WeChat message to a reporter from National Business Daily that real estate companies still face significant sales pressure in the second half of the year. However, if policymakers provide stronger support, the decline in sales may improve.
Sales Pressure Remains High in the Second Half
Data from the China Index Academy shows that in the first half of the year, the total sales of the top 100 real estate companies amounted to 1.83641 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 11.8%, with the drop widening by 1 percentage point compared to January-May. In June alone, sales of the top 100 developers fell by 18.5% year-on-year, with the decline expanding by 1.2 percentage points from May.
According to CRIC data, in June, the top 100 developers achieved sales of 338.96 billion yuan, up 14.7% month-on-month. In the first half of the year, their cumulative sales reached 1.65268 trillion yuan.
The number of developers in different tiers also shifted. Specifically, there were four developers with sales exceeding 100 billion yuan, two fewer than the same period last year, with an average sales value of 124.43 billion yuan. The second tier (50–100 billion yuan) included seven developers, three more than last year, with an average sales value of 63.75 billion yuan. The third tier (30–50 billion yuan) comprised three developers, three fewer than last year, with an average sales value of 34.8 billion yuan. The fourth tier (10–30 billion yuan) included 32 developers, four more than last year, with an average sales value of 15.13 billion yuan.
Additionally, the average sales of developers across all tiers declined year-on-year. The top 10 developers saw an average sales decline of 13.2%, the top 11–30 fell by 12.4%, the top 31–50 dropped by 2.2%, and the top 51–100 decreased by 13.5%.
“Real estate sales are still adjusting. In the first half, the sales of the top 100 developers showed a pattern of starting high and ending low, with the decline narrowing in the first quarter but expanding again in the second quarter,” Liu Shui noted. “In the second half, developers will still face significant sales pressure. However, if policymakers provide stronger support, the decline in sales may improve.”
Poly Development Tops Sales in the First Half
According to China Index Academy data, the top three developers by sales in the first half were Poly Development, Greentown China, and China Overseas Land & Investment, with sales of 145.2 billion yuan, 122.1 billion yuan, and 120.14 billion yuan, respectively. They were followed by China Resources Land, with cumulative sales reaching 110.3 billion yuan.
A review of the data shows that China Overseas Land & Investment became the sales champion in June alone, with sales of 29.74 billion yuan, while Poly Development ranked second with 29.1 billion yuan.
Notably, nearly 30 of the top 100 developers achieved year-on-year sales growth despite the challenging environment.
For example, China Energy Engineering City Development reported sales of 19.93 billion yuan in the first half, up 166% year-on-year, jumping from 64th place in the first half of last year to 20th this year. According to CRIC, the company invested tens of billions in land acquisitions in 2024, including high-demand plots in core areas. In the first half, its project Nengjian·West Bund Mansion in Shanghai’s Xuhui Riverside sold out on its opening day, generating 4.768 billion yuan. Later, its collaborative project with China Resources Land and Yuexiu Property, Feiyun Yuefu in Shanghai’s Pudong New Yangsi, also sold out in its first phase, becoming the project with the highest subscription rate in Shanghai this year.
Similarly, CSCEC Land saw its sales rise by nearly 50% year-on-year to 12.02 billion yuan, climbing from 59th place last year to 35th this year. Its official WeChat account showed that the second phase of its Beijing Guoxian Mansion project achieved sales of 2.14 billion yuan upon its April launch, followed by 1.15 billion yuan in May. Moreover, three of its projects dominated the top three spots in Beijing’s Chaoyang District for equity sales in May.
China Jinmao also delivered a strong performance. Despite its large base, its sales grew by nearly 20%, rising from 12th place in the first half of last year to 9th this year. Several hot projects in Shanghai contributed significantly: Runyun Jinmao Mansion and Jiangwan Jinmao Mansion each generated over 1.4 billion yuan in initial sales, while Jinmao Tangqian sold out on its opening day.
Additionally, China Railway Group (22nd place) saw sales grow by 39%, Xiamen C&D (21st place) by 35%, Sichuan-based private developer Runda Fengbinjiang by 78%, and others like Hubei Tourism C&D Group, Ronghe Group, and Chengdu CITIC Properties also posted significant increases.
In terms of contracted sales, CRIC data shows that in June, the top 100 developers achieved 338.96 billion yuan, up 14.7% month-on-month, with nearly 60% reporting sequential growth—28 of which saw increases exceeding 30%. Developers like China Overseas Land & Investment, China Resources Land, China Merchants Shekou, China Jinmao, Yuexiu Property, China Railway Construction, and Greenland Holdings performed well, with notable monthly growth.
“Regional investment-focused developers, such as Shenye Group and Bangtai Group, have seen relatively high year-on-year growth in sales for some time, but their performance is heavily influenced by regional market conditions,” Yan Yuejin, Deputy Director of the Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, told National Business Daily via WeChat on July 1. “To gauge market trends, we should look at large central state-owned enterprises and top-ranked developers. Companies like China Railway Group and Xiamen C&D have shown steady performance, and their counter-trend growth may bring new opportunities to the market.”
Core Cities Contribute Significantly More
In the first half, major developers intensified their focus on core first- and second-tier cities. With consensus forming around these cities and locations, the contribution of core cities to sales performance also rose significantly.
According to the China Index Academy’s monitoring of 20 representative developers, sales from first-tier cities accounted for 40.0% of total performance in the first half, up 9 percentage points year-on-year. Second-tier cities remained a key source of sales, contributing 47.8%, though this was down 6.8 percentage points.
Specifically, China Merchants Shekou, Yuexiu Property, CSCEC YiPin, and China Railway Group concentrated on first-tier cities, with over 50% of their sales coming from these markets. Poly Development, China Overseas Land & Investment, China Resources Land, Poly Property, and CSCEC Dongfu derived more than 40% of their sales from first-tier cities.
Shanghai and Beijing contributed the most, with the fastest growth. In the first half, Shanghai’s contribution to the 20 developers’ sales rose by 4.5 percentage points, while Beijing’s increased by 3.8 percentage points. Their respective contribution rates were 16.9%, 10.6%, and 9.0% for Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou.
Due to increased investment by leading developers in Shanghai and Beijing, Hangzhou’s contribution fell by 2 percentage points to 7.9%.
In terms of product performance across city tiers, first-tier cities saw the fastest growth in 90–140 sqm first-time upgrade projects, which accounted for 55.2% of sales, up 10.6 percentage points. In second-tier cities, 104–200 sqm upgrade projects and 200+ sqm high-end projects grew by 3.9 and 2.3 percentage points, respectively, while 90–140 sqm first-time upgrade products fell by 7.9 percentage points. Notably, third- and fourth-tier cities saw the fastest growth in 200+ sqm high-end projects, up 5.4 percentage points.
Outlook for the Second Half
What can be expected in terms of supply, demand, and policies for the second half of the year?
“On the policy front, the government may introduce measures such as expanding the use of housing vouchers in urban village redevelopment to stimulate demand. Additionally, efforts to improve the use of special bonds for acquiring idle land and unsold homes could help developers liquidate assets and improve cash flow,” Liu Shui said. “In terms of market performance, while June saw month-on-month growth in new and second-hand home sales in key cities, year-on-year declines persisted. The market remains volatile, and regional divergence will continue. ‘Good cities + good properties’ offer structural opportunities, but a full market recovery will require stronger policy support.”