According to the report from the Viewpoint Index on October 9, based on the "September 2025 Real Estate Enterprises New Land Reserve Report," the land acquisition strategy of real estate companies continues to focus on "core cities and prioritizing risk control." The investment pace of real estate companies shows significant differentiation, with leading central state-owned enterprises dominating core cities due to their financial advantages, while mixed-ownership and private enterprises pay more attention to risk control and adopt a more cautious investment approach. In the second half of the year, the pace of land acquisition will slow down, and high-quality scarce land will remain attractive, leading to further differentiation in investment pace.

The report indicates that during the reporting period, the top 50 real estate companies added a total of 2.2564 million square meters of land area in a single month, a month-on-month decrease of 54.03%. Notably, the cumulative newly added land area for the top 50 real estate companies from January to August was 36.2423 million square meters, an increase of 7.19% year-on-year.

Data Source: Viewpoint Index Compilation

Among them, China Overseas Land & Investment, China Merchants Shekou, and Poly Developments and Holdings added comprehensive land reserves of 3.0937 million square meters, 2.7564 million square meters, and 2.6719 million square meters, respectively, leading the market.

In terms of equity land acquisition amounts, the companies with the most significant land investment from January to August were China Resources Land, China Overseas Land & Investment, Greentown China, Poly Developments and Holdings, and China Merchants Shekou, with equity land acquisition amounts of RMB 58.45 billion, RMB 55.01 billion, RMB 50.24 billion, RMB 47.87 billion, and RMB 40.46 billion, respectively.

In terms of newly added value, the companies with the highest newly added land value from January to August were Poly Developments and Holdings, China Overseas Land & Investment, China Merchants Shekou, China Jinmao, and China Resources Land, with newly added values of RMB 89.45 billion, RMB 81.09 billion, RMB 80.69 billion, RMB 66.59 billion, and RMB 58.66 billion, respectively.

In August, China Resources Land acquired three plots in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, with an equity land area of 383,900 square meters and an equity land acquisition amount of RMB 26 billion. China Merchants Shekou secured four plots in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Xi'an, with an equity land area of 437,100 square meters and an equity land acquisition amount of RMB 12.875 billion. Poly Developments acquired two plots in Sanya, with an equity land area of 162,400 square meters and an equity land acquisition amount of RMB 1.134 billion. Greentown China acquired two plots in Shenzhen and Jinhua, with an equity land area of 100,600 square meters and an equity land acquisition amount of RMB 1.8 billion.

The Viewpoint Index points out that the land acquisition strategy of real estate companies continues to focus on "core cities and prioritizing risk control." Leading central state-owned enterprises such as China Resources and Poly leverage their financial and resource advantages to continue dominating the competition for high-quality core plots in cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen through joint land acquisitions. According to statements from performance meetings, mixed-ownership enterprises and private enterprises such as Greentown China and Longfor Group place greater emphasis on risk control in their land investment strategies and adopt a cautious investment approach On August 15, Shenzhen transferred the A002-0108 land parcel in the Bao'an District, with a starting price of 6.409 billion yuan. It was ultimately won by a consortium of Shenzhen ZhaoShun Real Estate Co., Ltd. (a subsidiary of China Merchants) and Shenzhen RunKun Real Estate Co., Ltd. (a subsidiary of China Resources) for 8.64 billion yuan, with a comprehensive floor price of approximately 59,500 yuan per square meter and a premium rate of 34.81%. This is also the highest total price land parcel auctioned in Shenzhen this year. This collaboration to acquire the Bao'an South Street parcel marks the second cooperation between China Merchants and China Resources in Shenzhen.

On August 29, Poly Developments, after acquiring land twice in Hainan in 2024, replenished its holdings again in the Yuechuan unit of the Sanya Central Business District. The southern section of the YC1-04-02A/B and YC1-04-02C parcels in the Sanya Central Business District was successfully transferred, with Poly Developments winning the urban residential land at a total price exceeding 2.34 billion yuan. The parcel covers approximately 106 acres, with a total area of 70,434.60 square meters, and will be used for the construction of market-oriented commercial housing.

The plot's floor area ratio ranges from 2.1 to 2.4, with a maximum planned construction area of approximately 162,424.07 square meters. The total transaction price was 1.13366 billion yuan, equivalent to a starting land floor price of about 6,980 yuan per square meter. Notably, the winning bidder, Poly Developments, is required to construct part of the Hainan International Cultural Exchange Center and other projects at no cost, with a total investment amounting to 1.212 billion yuan. Including the investment for the construction, the comprehensive transaction price reaches 2.346 billion yuan, with a comprehensive floor price of approximately 14,400 yuan per square meter.

The Viewpoint Index believes that the current land acquisition by real estate companies shows significant differentiation. Leading central state-owned enterprises, such as China Resources and Poly, are frequently making moves in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, relying on their financial and resource advantages, while mixed-ownership and private enterprises generally adopt risk-averse strategies, with investment pace noticeably slowing down, focusing more on precise layouts within financial safety boundaries. In the future, under the main tone of "focusing on core cities + prioritizing risk control," high-quality land parcels will still attract fierce competition among enterprises, while the differentiation in investment strategies among companies will continue to deepen, leading to a more pronounced structural differentiation in market heat