Top-tier luxury homes in Guangzhou and Shenzhen valued above 30 million yuan, with transaction growth exceeding 100%, surpassing Beijing and Shanghai

Reporter | Chen Ronghao

Editor | Cheng Peng, Liao Dan, Du Hengfeng Proofreader | Duan Lian

As the first quarter of 2026 approaches its conclusion, the luxury housing market in the four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen is experiencing a significant reshuffle, with market differentiation becoming increasingly evident.

According to CRIC data, as of March 22, the year-on-year increase in online signed transactions for high-end residences priced above 30 million yuan in first-tier cities rose by 14%, creating an independent trend against the tide; meanwhile, the year-on-year transactions for residential properties priced above 10 million yuan (excluding hotel-style apartments) fell by 37%, with the mid-to-high-end residential and top luxury markets showing distinctly opposite trends.

Among them, the luxury markets in Guangzhou and Shenzhen have seen explosive growth, with transaction year-on-year growth rates both surpassing 100%, significantly outpacing Beijing and Shanghai. As of March 22, Shenzhen recorded 12 transactions of luxury homes priced at 100 million yuan, nearing the total of 13 transactions for the entire previous year; Guangzhou, on the other hand, produced a top luxury property priced at 28,000 yuan/sqm and totaling 187 million yuan, breaking nearly two years of records for the unit price of top luxury residences in Guangzhou.

Guangzhou and Shenzhen’s luxury transaction growth exceeds 100%

Surpassing Beijing and Shanghai

Reporters from the Daily Economic News have noted that since the beginning of the year, the luxury housing market in first-tier cities has begun to show significant differentiation. Specifically, the market for high-end residences priced at 10 million yuan has cooled, while the market for top luxury properties priced above 30 million yuan has risen against the trend, with a notable widening gap in transaction growth rates between cities.

CRIC data shows that as of March 22, a total of 3,044 residential units priced above 10 million yuan were sold in the four first-tier cities, a decrease of about 37% compared to the same period in 2025.

However, when the price threshold is raised to 30 million yuan, the market trend reverses, with a total of 548 high-end residences sold in this price range across the four first-tier cities, representing a year-on-year increase of 14%, making it one of the few growth segments in the real estate market.

In terms of city performance, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have become the absolute leaders, with transaction growth rates exceeding 100%, greatly surpassing Beijing and Shanghai.

Shenzhen’s performance stands out the most, with a cumulative transaction of 168 luxury homes priced above 30 million yuan as of March 22, an increase of 154.55% year-on-year; the daily average transaction is 2.07 units, a 132.6% increase compared to last year’s fourth quarter’s daily average of 0.89 units. Guangzhou closely follows with a cumulative transaction of 73 units as of March 20, a year-on-year increase of 128.13%, with a daily average transaction of 0.90 units, achieving a doubling of sales compared to last year’s fourth quarter.

Shanghai remains the “ballast” for the total number of luxury home transactions above 30 million yuan, ranking first with 229 transactions, but due to supply contraction and the high baseline from last year, it declined by 27.99% year-on-year, with daily average transactions falling by 28.9% compared to last year’s fourth quarter, indicating weakened growth momentum. Beijing saw 78 transactions, a year-on-year increase of 20%, but the daily average transactions were less than one unit, with growth strength far behind Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The transaction pattern of luxury homes priced at 100 million yuan further reflects the strength of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, with these cities directly surpassing Beijing and Shanghai in transactions at this price point. As of March 22, Shenzhen recorded 12 transactions of luxury homes priced at 100 million yuan, with 10 units from the CITIC City Opening Xinyue Bay and 2 units from the Houhai Yunchi Garden, where the average recorded price at CITIC City Opening Xinyue Bay reached 24.4 thousand yuan/sqm, setting a new high for average luxury home prices in Shenzhen in recent years.

CRIC analysis indicated that as of March 20, Guangzhou recorded 7 transactions of luxury homes priced at 100 million yuan, with 5 units coming from Poly Yuexi Bay. A unit in this project, priced at 28 thousand yuan/sqm and totaling 187 million yuan, has not yet been included in online signing, which will further boost Guangzhou’s luxury home transaction data.

From the market performance perspective, the leading real estate projects in Guangzhou’s first quarter have shown prominent results. On March 26, reporters learned from insiders at Poly Development that several high-end residential projects in the “Zhujiang New Town - Macha” area have gained considerable popularity recently, reigniting interest in the “Zhu Jin Pa” Golden Triangle in Guangzhou’s core area.

“Since March, Poly Tianyi has shown strong market performance, with a significant small spring effect, accumulating over 650 visits, achieving a sales record of 10 units in a single day and 20 units in a single week, with total sales exceeding 500 million yuan,” the Poly Tianyi project team revealed to reporters.

Guangzhou luxury housing project Poly Tianyi on-site image source: Provided by the interviewee

“Increasing luxury home transactions (sales) have at least a positive significance for price stability in the short term. Of course, the effect depends on whether it can promote upgrades in the supply side in terms of product quality and supporting facilities, creating quality homes and stimulating demand,” analyzed Li Yujia, chief researcher at the Guangdong Housing Policy Research Center.

However, Li Yujia also mentioned that due to the niche nature of the luxury housing market, and the current dominance of low total price transactions in both new and second-hand housing markets, the impact of luxury home transactions on the overall real estate market is limited and should be viewed with caution.

Concentrated Supply of Luxury Homes in Guangzhou and Shenzhen

The ability of the luxury markets in Guangzhou and Shenzhen to achieve growth rates exceeding 100% and lead the first-tier cities is also somewhat related to the concentrated supply of luxury properties in both areas.

Reporters have found that by the end of 2025, the Shenzhen luxury market had already experienced a supply surge, with four benchmark projects—Houhai Yunchi Garden, CITIC City Opening Xinyue Bay, Houhai China Merchants Xi, and Lian Tai Super Total Bay—totaling 668 units entering the market, with a total value reaching hundreds of billions of yuan.

CRIC data indicates that in the fourth quarter of 2025, the supply area of luxury homes priced above 30 million yuan in Shenzhen increased by 1.3 times year-on-year; as of March 22, 2026, the supply in this price range approached 50,000 square meters, while there was no supply in the same period last year, with a large amount of new supply gradually converting to online signed transactions in the first quarter.

“Looking back at the past luxury market transaction situation, a similar trend was also observed in 2024, when the total transactions of luxury homes priced above 30 million yuan in 30 key cities increased by 65% year-on-year, showing a characteristic of ‘the more expensive, the more they buy.’ This trend has continued into 2026, with the total price segments for high-net-worth individuals continuing to rise,” the CRIC Deep Consulting and Puri Smart Research Center analyzed to reporters on the morning of March 26.

In contrast to Shenzhen’s luxury market accelerating at the end of last year, Guangzhou’s luxury market supply rhythm accelerated in late March. According to monitoring data from Puri in the Guangzhou-Foshan area, since late March, the pace of obtaining approvals for new projects in Guangzhou has significantly sped up, with approximately 28 popular selling projects expected to be launched throughout the city in March.

It’s worth mentioning that the luxury projects entering the Guangzhou market are mainly located in core areas of the city.

For example, the Houhai Yunchi Garden is situated in Shenzhen’s traditional luxury district, about 400 meters from Shenzhen Bay No. 1; this land was won by a joint venture of China Resources and China Overseas for 18.512 billion yuan after 295 rounds of bidding, with a premium rate as high as 46.31%, and the floor price exceeding 70,000 yuan/sqm. During the second launch on March 22, the 216 sqm unit and a 408 sqm billion-level unit sold out immediately. Within four months, sales exceeded 23.9 billion yuan.

In Guangzhou, the Macha land parcel was sold for 23.604 billion yuan in February 2026, with a premium rate of 26.6%, and the floor price exceeding 80,000 yuan/sqm, which also boosted the second-hand luxury market in the Zhujiang New Town area, with owners becoming more reluctant to sell.

According to data released by the Guangzhou Zhongyuan Research and Development Department in early March this year, the second-hand luxury housing market in Zhujiang New Town has shown a “double increase” in volume and price for eight consecutive weeks, with January transactions reaching 83 units. Other data indicates that February, traditionally a slow season, saw the second-hand online signing volume in the Zhujiang New Town area reach 60 units.

“After the sale of the Macha land parcel, luxury homeowners in the Zhujiang New Town area have clearly become more reluctant to sell,” a real estate agent in Zhujiang New Town, Guangzhou, told reporters on the afternoon of March 26. After the Macha land auction, it was estimated that the breakeven price for the land parcel was around 160,000 yuan/sqm, essentially setting a “floor price” for the core area of Zhujiang New Town. However, the transaction prices of surrounding second-hand top luxury properties (such as Qiaoxin Huiyue Tai, Triumph New World, etc.) generally range from 170,000 to 300,000 yuan/sqm, making the cost-effectiveness stand out compared to the “flour price” (usually referring to land acquisition costs).

(Editor: Wen Jing)

Keywords:

                                                            Luxury Homes
                                                            Real Estate Market