China Index Research Institute: Residential land was launched in 300 cities in August, and the transaction scale continued to decline year-on-year, and concessions increased by 37%

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the China Index Research Institute published an article stating that in August, residential land was launched in 300 cities, and the year-on-year decline in transaction scale increased, but sales increased year-on-year, driven by high-quality land plots in core cities. In August, the planned construction area for residential land transactions in 300 cities was 26.74 million square meters, down 18.3% year on year; concession money was 145.7 billion yuan, up 37.0% year on year; the average premium rate was 7.4%, down somewhat from month to month.

Supply and demand situation in various provinces and tier cities: In August, the scale of residential land concessions continued in various provinces (cities and districts). Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu ranked first, with concessions reaching 24.7 billion yuan, 22.6 billion yuan, and 22.5 billion yuan respectively. Looking at various tier cities, first-tier city concessions increased sharply year-on-year in August, mainly driven by concentrated sales of high-quality land plots in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou; concession funds for second-tier cities remained basically the same as the same period last year, while third- and fourth-tier cities continued to decline year over year. Cumulatively, in January-August, residential land concessions in first-tier cities increased 2.3% year-on-year, while second-tier, third-tier and fourth-tier cities still declined year-on-year; the concentration of leading cities remained high, with TOP20 cities accounting for about 61% of the country's share of concessions.

Land policy: On August 28, the Ministry of Housing and Construction, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the General Administration of Financial Supervision issued the “Notice on Improving the Commercial Housing Sales System”, which proposes that all regions should improve pre-sale management of commercial housing, clearly implement existing commercial housing sales in a vigorous and orderly manner, and require all regions to simultaneously improve relevant supporting policies and measures to strengthen policy coordination and coordination. In addition, Guangdong, Chongqing and other provinces and cities issued special bonds to collect and buy vacant land stocks worth approximately 47.4 billion yuan.

01 Changes in overall real estate land supply and demand in 300 cities

Figure: Trends in residential land launches and transactions in the 300 cities of the China Index from 2024 to 2026

Figure: Trends in residential land concession funds in 300 cities in the China Index from 2024 to 2026

Data source: Middle Index Data CREIS

In August, residential land was launched in 300 cities, and the transaction scale continued to decline year on year. According to data monitoring by the China Index, in August 2026, 300 cities introduced a total planned residential land area of 41.06 million square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 27.9%; the planned construction area was 26.74 million square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 18.3%. Cumulatively, from January to August 2026, 300 cities introduced a total of 240 million square meters of planned residential land, a year-on-year decrease of 21.3%; the planned construction area was 190 million square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 20.5%.

In terms of concessions, in August, residential land concessions in 300 cities were 145.7 billion yuan, an increase of 37.0% over the previous year, mainly driven by the entry into the market of many high-value land plots in core cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Cumulatively, from January to August 2026, residential land concessions in 300 cities amounted to 885.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 21.1%.

Figure: Trends in the average floor price and premium rate of residential land transactions in the 300 cities of the China Index from 2024 to 2026

Data source: Middle Index Data CREIS

In terms of floor prices, in August, the average floor price of residential land transactions in 300 cities was 5,449 yuan/㎡, up 67.7% year on year. The large increase was mainly driven by structural increases in high-priced land in the core areas of Beijing and Shanghai. Cumulatively, from January to August 2026, the average floor price traded was 4,612 yuan/㎡, down 0.7% year on year.

In terms of premium rate, from January to August 2026, the average premium rate for residential land in 300 cities was 9.5%. The average monthly premium rate in August was 7.4%, down from the July high. However, high-quality land plots in some core cities still maintained a certain premium level, and the “hot spot” characteristics of the land market continued.

II. Analysis of land markets in subregions and key cities

1. In August, the scale of residential land concessions in Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu was still at the top

Table: Residential land launches and transactions in all provinces (cities and districts) across the country in August 2026

Note: Excluding the Xinjiang Construction Corps

Data source: Middle Index Data CREIS

Looking at each province (city, district), Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu led the scale of residential land concessions in August. Among them, Beijing took the lead with 24.7 billion yuan, Shanghai second with 22.6 billion yuan, and Jiangsu with 22.5 billion yuan. However, concession funds in most provinces continued to decline year on year, and some provinces fluctuated greatly year over year due to structural factors. In terms of premium rates, auctions for core plots in core cities such as Beijing and Guangdong are very popular. The average premium rates are 14% and 16%, respectively; land auctions in many cities have remained flat.

2. In August, the popularity of high-quality land plots in first-tier cities continued, with sales of more than 10 billion yuan in North China; in January-August, TOP20 urban residential land concessions accounted for about 61% of the country

Table: Year-on-year changes in indicators related to residential land launches and transactions in various tier cities from January to August 2026

Data source: Middle Index Data CREIS

Looking at various sites, in August, land auctions in first-tier cities maintained a certain level of popularity. Many high-quality plots, such as Sijiqing in Haidian District of Beijing and Guangqu Road in Chaoyang District, achieved high premium transactions. The premium rate for land in Pazhou in Haizhu District of Guangzhou reached 33%. Cumulatively, in January-August, the launch area of first-tier cities increased 15.0% year on year, transaction area increased 2.8% year on year, concession funds increased 2.3% year on year, and land market restoration momentum was further concentrated in core cities.

In August, the launch area and transaction area of second-tier cities declined year-on-year, and some cities showed outstanding performance. Hefei's residential land concession in August was 5.3 billion yuan, ranking first among second-tier cities. There is still fragmentation between cities, and high-quality land plots in some core cities remain popular, but low premium or reserve price transactions are still the norm in most cities. Cumulatively, the transaction area of second-tier cities declined year-on-year in January-August, and the year-on-year decline in concessions was the highest among all tier cities.

In August, the launch of third- and fourth-tier cities, transaction area, and land concessions all showed a year-on-year decline. The overall premium rate was less than 4%, and reserve price transactions were still mainstream. Cumulatively, in January-August, the transaction area of third- and fourth-tier cities fell 16.7% year on year, concession funds fell 13.8% year on year, and short-term land markets operated at low temperatures.

Figure: Since 2020, residential land concessions in different cities have accounted for the share of the country (entire city)

Table: Residential land transactions in key cities in August and January-August 2026

Data source: Middle Index Data CREIS

In August, driven by outstanding land auction performance in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, each sold over 10 billion yuan, of which Beijing and Shanghai each exceeded 20 billion yuan. In terms of urban concentration, according to data from the China Index, residential land concessions in the top 20 cities in the country accounted for about 61% of the country's share from January to August 2026. Among the top 20 cities, they are mainly first-tier and second-tier cities. Among them, in January-August, Shanghai's residential land concessions were 97.5 billion yuan, continuing to rank first in the country; Beijing and Hangzhou respectively ranked second and third in the country; Guangzhou sold 47.1 billion yuan, Nanjing and Shenzhen each surpassed 30 billion yuan, and Chengdu sold nearly 29 billion yuan.

III. Analysis of land policies in key cities

Table: Summary of policies on local stock revitalization and special debt in August 2026

Data source: Comprehensive compilation by the China Index Research Institute

On the policy side, on August 28, the Ministry of Housing and Construction, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the General Administration of Financial Supervision issued the “Notice on Improving the Commercial Housing Sales System”, which proposes that all regions should improve pre-sale management of commercial housing, clearly implement existing commercial housing sales in a vigorous and orderly manner, and require all regions to simultaneously improve relevant supporting policies and measures, and strengthen policy coordination and coordination. On the same day, the Central Bank and the General Administration of Financial Supervision jointly issued “Opinions on Reforming and Improving Real Estate Credit Management to Accelerate the Construction of a New Model for Real Estate Development”, improving the credit system from the entire real estate development, sales, and operation chain, and introducing administrative measures such as development loans, personal housing loans, commercial real estate loans, and urban renewal project loans. The Securities Regulatory Commission issued “Opinions on Capital Market Support for Building a New Model of Real Estate Development” to optimize financing systems for housing enterprises' stocks, bonds, asset-backed securities, and real estate investment trusts. The above policy is making concerted efforts in housing sales, bank credit, and capital market financing to further improve the institutional system for the new model of real estate development. In addition, in August, many provinces and cities continued to promote the collection and recycling of idle stock land and the acquisition of existing commercial housing through special debt.

Table: Status of plans to use special bonds and issued special bonds to acquire existing vacant land in different provinces and cities since 2025

Data source: Official websites of local governments, comprehensive compilation by the China Index Research Institute

According to incomplete statistics from the China Index, 28 provinces and cities have announced that they intend to use special bonds to collect and recycle idle stock land with a total amount of more than 810 billion yuan, and the actual issuance of special bonds exceeds 450 billion yuan, accounting for about 55%, of which 150 billion yuan will be newly issued since 2026.