China Index Academy: The TOP100 real estate companies acquired land in January-August increased by 28% year-on-year, while central state-owned enterprises accounted for more than 80%.

China Index Academy: The TOP100 real estate companies acquired land in January-August increased by 28% year-on-year, while central state-owned enterprises accounted for more than 80%.

Recently, the China Index Academy released data showing that from January to August 2024, the total land acquisition of the top 100 real estate companies in the country reached 1.2 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28%. The land acquisition amount of their central state-owned enterprises accounted for more than 80%, becoming the main force in the land market. This data reflects that against the background of deep adjustments to the real estate industry, central state-owned enterprises continue to increase their land reserves with their capital and credit advantages, while private real estate companies are relatively cautious.

1. The land acquisition amount of the TOP100 real estate companies increased significantly year-on-year

According to the monitoring data of China Index Academy, from January to August 2024, the total land acquisition of TOP100 real estate companies increased by 28% year-on-year, a significant increase from the same period in 2023. Judging from a single month, the scale of land acquisition by real estate companies in August decreased month-on-month, but continued to grow year-on-year, indicating that the overall popularity of the land market is still there.

2. The proportion of central state-owned enterprises exceeds 80%, and private enterprises continue to shrink in land acquisition

From the perspective of enterprise nature, central state-owned enterprises occupy an absolute dominant position in the land market. Data shows that from January to August, the proportion of land acquisition by central state-owned enterprises accounted for as high as 82%, an increase of 12 percentage points from the same period in 2023; the proportion of private enterprises was only 18%, and the scale of land acquisition continued to shrink.

3. Differentiation of land market popularity in key cities

By city, the land market in first-tier cities remains highly popular, and competition in core plots such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou is fierce. Among second-tier cities, economically strong cities such as Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Xi'an performed better in land transfer, while the land market in some third- and fourth-tier cities is still relatively sluggish.

4. Industry concentration continues to increase

From the corporate perspective, industry concentration has further increased. From January to August, the total land acquisition of the TOP10 real estate companies reached 48%, an increase of 5 percentage points from the same period last year. Among them, the land acquisition scale of central state-owned enterprises such as Poly Development, China Resources Land, and China Overseas Real Estate ranks among the top.

5. Market Outlook: The land market may operate smoothly

Looking ahead to the future market, industry experts believe that under the policy tone of "housing for living, not for speculation", the land market will maintain a stable development trend. Central state-owned enterprises will still be the main force in the land market, but some high-quality private enterprises with improved financial conditions may take the opportunity to supplement their land reserves. At the same time, the trend of differentiation among cities will continue, and high-quality plots in core cities will continue to be favored by real estate companies.

Overall, the land market data from January to August reflects that the real estate industry is undergoing in-depth adjustments and the industry structure is accelerating its reshaping. In the future, real estate companies with financial and credit advantages will gain more development opportunities, and the industry concentration is expected to further increase.

Metallographic