BUSINESS

Private Developers Edge Back Into China’s Land Auctions After Long Retreat

Published: Nov. 4, 2025 3:47 a.m. GMT+8

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A residential development during construction in Shanghai on July 12, 2025. Photo: Bloomberg

China’s top 100 property developers spent 783.8 billion yuan ($110 billion) on land purchases in the first 10 months of 2025, up 26.4% year-on-year, as private developers showed tentative signs of recovery after years of retreat, according to data released Saturday by the China Index Academy.

While central and local state-owned enterprises (SOEs) continued to dominate land acquisitions, 18 private developers made the top-100 list by land spending—up from 10 at the end of 2024. Their share of total land purchases rose to 12.4%, a 4.6 percentage-point increase from a year earlier.

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China’s top 100 property developers spent 783.8 billion yuan on land in the first 10 months of 2025, up 26.4% year-on-year.
18 private developers entered the top-100 for land spending, with their share rising to 12.4% from 7.8% a year earlier.
The private developer recovery is uneven, with only a few financially stable, regionally focused firms actively acquiring new land.

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Who’s Who

Hangzhou Binjiang Real Estate Group Co. Ltd.: Hangzhou Binjiang Real Estate Group Co. Ltd. is a private developer. It ranked seventh in land spending (34.7 billion yuan) and eleventh in land area acquired among top property developers. Despite these land acquisition ranks, it placed 13th in sales revenue and 19th in sales area, indicating a significant focus on land acquisition compared to its current sales performance.

Sichuan Bontop Investment Group Co. Ltd.: Sichuan Bontop Investment Group Co. Ltd. is a Chengdu-based private developer founded in 2007. Despite not being among China's top 100 developers by sales, it ranked 16th in land spending and 6th nationwide in land area acquired, with 88 billion yuan and 1.89 million square meters, respectively. It ranked first among private developers by land area acquired.

Chengdu Jiahexing Real Estate Development Co Ltd.: Chengdu Jiahexing Real Estate Development Co Ltd. is a smaller private firm that has re-entered the market for land acquisition. They are actively acquiring smaller, lower-priced plots in second- and third-tier cities in western and central China. In the first 10 months of the year, Jiahexing ranked 65th in land spending, spending 2.5 billion yuan.

Guangxi Yangpu Real Estate Group Co. Ltd.: Guangxi Yangpu Real Estate Group Co. Ltd. is a private real estate developer actively re-entering the market in second and third-tier cities across western and central China. They are acquiring smaller, lower-priced plots, often in fiscally strained cities, where deals offer favorable terms and attractive margins.

Yongzhou Jiaxin Real Estate Development Co. Ltd.: Yongzhou Jiaxin Real Estate Development Co. Ltd. is a private developer located in Hunan province, China. They are among the smaller private firms actively re-entering the market in second- and third-tier cities. In the first 10 months of 2025, Yongzhou Jiaxin ranked 87th in land spending, acquiring 2 billion yuan worth of land.

Haicheng Industrial Group Co. Ltd.: Haicheng Industrial Group Co. Ltd. is a Chongqing-based private developer actively acquiring smaller, lower-priced plots in second- and third-tier cities. They ranked 43rd in land spending, with 3.5 billion yuan invested in the first 10 months of the year, indicating their re-entry into the market for land acquisition.

Agile Group Holdings Ltd.: Agile Group Holdings Ltd., a Guangzhou-based private developer, resumed land buying after years of absence. This indicates a tentative sign of recovery among private developers in China's real estate market. The company is actively participating in land acquisitions again, following a period of inactivity.

Aonan Group: Aonan Group is a Chengdu-based private developer that has resumed land buying after years of absence from the market. This indicates a potential return to activity for the company, aligning with a broader trend of some private developers re-entering land auctions.

Sichuan Xingtang Real Estate Development Co. Ltd.: Sichuan Xingtang Real Estate Development Co. Ltd. is an established, Chengdu-based private developer. They resumed land buying in the first 10 months of 2025 after several years of absence. This move indicates a tentative return to the market for some private developers.

AI generated, for reference only