BUSINESS

Shenzhen’s Ultra-Rich Snap Up Luxury Homes Amid Wider Property Weakness

Published: Dec. 30, 2025 7:18 p.m. GMT+8

00:00

00:00/00:00

Listen to this article 1x

A rendering of the Houhai Merchants Legend project in Shenzhen.

Shenzhen’s luxury real estate market witnessed a frenzy of transactions in the final days of 2025, a stark contrast to the persistent slump in the southern tech hub’s broader property market.

China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings Co. Ltd. sold out all 40 units of its Houhai Merchants Legend project on Monday, according to the developer. The apartments, ranging from 195 to 432 square meters, were priced between 24 million yuan ($3.4 million) and more than 68 million yuan.

You've accessed an article available only to subscribers

Subscribe today for just $.99.

VIEW OPTIONS

Unlock exclusive discounts with a Caixin group subscription — ideal for teams and organizations.

Subscribe to both Caixin Global and The Wall Street Journal — for the price of one.

Share this article

Open WeChat and scan the QR code

DIGEST HUB

Digest Hub

Back

Explore the story in 30 seconds

Shenzhen’s luxury real estate saw record sales in late 2025, including CITIC’s Sino Bay selling over 10 billion yuan in two hours and setting price records up to 380,000 yuan/sqm.
Policy relaxations in 2024 enabled larger, high-priced units, driving a surge among wealthy buyers, but the broader market remains weak with falling prices and high inventory.
New home prices in Shenzhen dropped 25–30% year-to-date, and most projects need up to 25% discounts to attract buyers.

AI generated, for reference only

Who’s Who

China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings Co. Ltd.: China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings Co. Ltd. successfully sold all 40 units of its Houhai Merchants Legend project. The apartments were priced between 24 million yuan and over 68 million yuan, indicating a focus on the luxury real estate market. This developer was active in Shenzhen's high-end property sector.

CITIC Urban Development & Operation: CITIC Urban Development & Operation is a developer whose Sino Bay project launched on a Sunday. Apartments started at 53 million yuan, with two top-floor duplexes selling for approximately 187 million yuan and 250 million yuan. Total sales exceeded 10 billion yuan within two hours, setting a new benchmark with a registered average price of 244,400 yuan per square meter.

China Resources Land Ltd.: China Resources Land Ltd. co-developed the One Bay Park project, which claimed 13 billion yuan in sales on its first day. Although actual sales were around 11 billion yuan with a 60% sell-through rate, this strong performance helped the company exceed its annual target.

China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd.: China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. jointly developed the One Bay Park project, which achieved strong sales of around 11 billion yuan, exceeding its annual performance target.

KE Holdings Inc.: An agent affiliated with KE Holdings Inc. in Shenzhen reported a 20% drop in weekly visits to ordinary residential projects in November and December compared to the previous two months. The agent also stated that new home prices in Shenzhen have fallen by 25% to 30% year-to-date.

Centaline: According to Centaline, Shenzhen's new-residential inventory at the end of November was nearly 3.3 million square meters. Based on the average transaction volume over the past year, it would take approximately 12.6 months to sell this inventory. This represents an increase of 1.5 months in the destocking period compared to the end of October.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

March 2024：: Shenzhen stopped enforcing the '70/90' policy, which mandated that 70% of housing units in new projects be under 90 square meters.

September 2024：: Shenzhen lifted price caps on new homes.

After September 2024：: Sino Bay project upsized the minimum unit area to 300 square meters after policy relaxation, raising entry threshold to over 50 million yuan.

Start of 2025：: Supply in Shenzhen’s core areas shifted toward high-quality large units starting at 200 square meters, with total prices generally exceeding 30 million yuan.

End of October 2025：: The destocking period for Shenzhen's new-residential inventory was 1.5 months shorter than at the end of November 2025.

End of November 2025：: Shenzhen’s new-residential inventory stood at nearly 3.3 million square meters, with a destocking period of nearly 12.6 months.

November 30, 2025：: One Bay Park project launched and claimed sales of around 13 billion yuan on its first day, with an actual sell-through rate of about 60% (around 11 billion yuan).

December 24, 2025：: Beijing relaxed purchase rules for non-residents in suburban areas and increased support for families with multiple children.

December 28, 2025：: CITIC Urban Development & Operation’s Sino Bay project launched. Two top-floor duplexes priced at about 187 million yuan and 250 million yuan were sold, with total sales surpassing 10 billion yuan within two hours.