High-premium transactions for high-quality prime land are frequently seen in core cities

On July 8, Nanchang successfully auctioned the DAFJ2026007 plot in the High-Tech Zone. The plot covers an area of 105.447 mu, with a plot ratio of 1.8. It was ultimately acquired by Jiangxi Chenhong Real Estate Co., Ltd. at a price of 7.87 million yuan per mu, which is equivalent to a total transaction value of 830 million yuan, with a premium rate as high as 50.2%.

The plot is the first residential land parcel auctioned in Nanchang in the second half of the year. Li Guozheng, an analyst at the Central China Branch of the China Index Academy, said the plot is a rare large-scale parcel in Nanchang in recent years, with a plot ratio of only 1.8, making it suitable for building low-density residential housing. It is also the first time since 2024 that Nanchang High-Tech Zone has supplied residential land for auction. With a strong industrial and population base in the surrounding area, stable housing demand, and a current gap in new projects in the region, investment safety is ensured.

Entering the second half of 2026, residential land has been successfully auctioned in cities including Nanchang, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Changsha. Among them, high-quality plots are highly favored by real estate developers, and high-premium transactions occur frequently.

For example, on July 7, Hangzhou auctioned the XS010106-13 plot in the core unit of Century City in Xiaoshan District. After 98 rounds of fierce bidding, it sold for 4.61B yuan, with a premium rate of 26.68%.

In fact, since this year began, under the joint effect of “reducing quantity while improving quality” in land supply and developers’ continued investment strategy of “precise investment” and “invest based on sales,” the land market has shown a pattern of “point-like intense heat.” There are significant differences across cities and segments: bidding competition for high-quality plots in core cities is fierce, and high-premium deal-making has happened repeatedly.

Data from the China Index Academy show that as of June 26, among 300 cities, residential land was launched with planned construction area of 158.85 million square meters, a year-on-year decrease of 20.9%. The average premium rate was 9.0%, up by 5.6 percentage points compared with the second half of last year. Among them, the average premium rate for residential land in first-tier cities reached 19.3%, the highest among all tiers.

Cao Jingjing, General Manager of the Index Research Department at the China Index Academy, said that local land-supply strategies have proactively adjusted; “reducing quantity while improving quality” has become the norm. Core cities generally reduced the scale of land supply in suburbs and concentrated indicators on high-quality plots in core areas. At the same time, developers’ land acquisition is highly focused. Because high-quality plots have higher safety margins, they can effectively withstand market fluctuations, while developers’ willingness to participate in bidding remains strong, thereby pushing up premium rates.

“Now the land market’s supply timing is more precise, avoiding the large swings brought by concentrated land supply, reflecting the guidance of ‘controlling incremental supply and optimizing supply quality.’” Yan Yuejin, Deputy Director of the Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, told reporters of the Securities Daily. Looking ahead to the second half of the year, as high-quality plots in core areas are supplemented in a timely manner and financing and sales conditions for developers continue to improve, land markets in various places are expected to maintain steady operation.

Cao Jingjing believes that in the next phase, first- and second-tier cities’ core areas are likely to continue to see more high-quality residential land entering the market. With strong locations and improved supporting facilities, this should help maintain heat in the land market and stabilize expectations.

【Author: Zhang Xiangyi】(Edited by: Wen Jing)

Keywords: Land