Sales of Top 100 Real Estate Enterprises in May Increased 3.5% MoM, with Over Half of Enterprises Reporting Improved Performance

Despite numerous challenges in the market, the overall real estate market continued to stabilize and recover, driven by sustained policy efforts and proactive strategic adjustments by enterprises.

According to CRIC statistics, the top 100 real estate enterprises achieved sales operating revenue of 294.58 billion yuan in May this year, up 3.5% MoM.

Data showed that over half of the top 100 real estate enterprises saw a MoM increase in their monthly performance in May, with 22 enterprises experiencing a MoM growth of over 30% in their monthly performance. Real estate enterprises such as Greentown China, CNOOC Real Estate, China Jinmao, Greenland Holdings, and PowerChina Real Estate all achieved significant MoM and YoY improvements in their monthly performance.

"Driven by sales promotions by real estate enterprises and the supply of high-quality housing, new home sales in key cities increased MoM in May." Analysts from China Index Academy predicted that the policy environment for the real estate market in June would remain accommodative. Coupled with the arrival of the mid-year sales period, the pace of property launches and the intensity of sales promotions by real estate enterprises may increase, and the market in core cities is expected to continue its recovery.

From a cumulative sales performance perspective, data from China Index Academy showed that from January to May 2025, the total sales of the top 100 real estate enterprises reached 1.44364 trillion yuan, down 10.8% YoY. There were 33 real estate enterprises with total sales exceeding 10 billion yuan, the same as the previous year. There were 64 real estate enterprises with sales between 5 billion and 10 billion yuan, a decrease of 6 from the previous year.

Among them, Poly Developments and Holdings ranked first in the industry with sales of 116.1 billion yuan in the first five months, followed by Greentown China with 96.4 billion yuan, CNOOC Real Estate with 90.4 billion yuan in third place, China Resources Land with 86.85 billion yuan in fourth place, and China Merchants Shekou with 67.1 billion yuan in fifth place.

The sixth to tenth places in the industry were occupied by Vanke, C&D Real Estate, Yuexiu Property, Binjiang Group, and Huafa Industrial, with sales of 57 billion yuan, 56.1 billion yuan, 50.8 billion yuan, 43.36 billion yuan, and 43.26 billion yuan, respectively.

As the sales market gradually stabilizes, significant changes have also occurred in the land acquisition strategies of real estate enterprises.

In terms of land acquisition, from January to May 2025, the total land acquisition amount of the TOP 100 enterprises reached 405.19 billion yuan, up 28.8% YoY. In terms of new inventory value, Poly Developments and Holdings, Greentown China, and China Jinmao ranked among the top three. From January to May 2025, Poly Developments and Holdings topped the list with a new inventory value of 72.8 billion yuan, followed by Greentown China with 72.3 billion yuan, and China Jinmao with a new inventory value of 60.3 billion yuan, ranking third.

"When acquiring land, real estate enterprises are increasingly focusing on core first- and second-tier cities," said Wang Ying, Managing Director of Corporate Ratings, Asia Pacific, at Fitch Ratings. Since Q4 last year, well-performing real estate enterprises have mainly been those state-owned enterprises with substantial land reserves in core first- and second-tier cities. However, real estate enterprises with large land reserves in third- and fourth-tier cities have not significantly benefited from the housing market recovery due to a lack of high-grade sellable resources. Meanwhile, weak sales have led to a continuous decline in operating cash flow, further constraining these enterprises' ability to acquire land in core areas of key cities.

At the policy level, promoting the sustained recovery of the market remains an important policy goal for the real estate sector this year. Analysts from the China Index Academy believe that various policies are expected to continue to be implemented at an accelerated pace, with specific policies mainly focusing on urban village renovation, the supply of high-grade housing, and the acquisition of existing commercial housing inventory. "High-quality housing" has also become an important factor in driving market recovery.

In recent years, the central government has repeatedly set the direction for the construction of "high-quality housing." In 2025, "high-quality housing" was included in the Government Work Report for the first time, proposing to "adapt to the people's high-grade living needs, improve standards and specifications, and promote the construction of safe, comfortable, green, and intelligent 'high-quality housing'," reflecting the government's high emphasis on the construction of "high-quality housing."

On March 31, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the national standard "Code for Residential Projects," which sets clear regulations on aspects such as the floor height of residential buildings, sound insulation performance of walls and floor slabs, elevator configuration requirements, and the net height of balcony railings. The code was officially implemented on May 1.

At the same time, many localities have issued guidelines or relevant technical regulations for high-grade residential design over the past two years, with some implementation standards higher than the new version of the "Code for Residential Projects" to meet residents' demand for high-grade housing. In early May, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the "2025 Beijing Annual Housing Development Plan," emphasizing the continuous promotion of the stabilization and improvement of the real estate market, vigorously constructing "high-quality housing," and better meeting diversified housing needs.

Against the backdrop of policies advocating for "high-quality housing," real estate enterprises have also launched "high-quality housing" product systems. As a representative of the first batch of "high-quality housing" projects in Daxing District, Beijing, Xingchuang proposed the concept of "climate adaptability," considering Beijing's geographical factors to redesign supporting facilities necessary for livability. Its Muchun Villa project in Daxing adopts multiple high technologies to construct the Muchun series of high-quality housing products.

"From the perspective of transaction structure, improvement-oriented demand has become an important support for the new housing market, with the proportion of transactions for units above 120 m² in key cities increasing in the first four months," said Wang Ying, Managing Director of Corporate Ratings, Asia Pacific, at Fitch Ratings.

The aforementioned analyst from the China Index Academy stated that for enterprises, comprehensively enhancing their overall strength in areas such as cost control, product design, technological adaptation, and market positioning has become an important factor in improving their product competitiveness.