A heavy August calendar
China's three largest tier-one land markets will bring 17 residential-use plots to auction in August 2026 with a combined starting price of more than 55.1 billion yuan, according to the monthly land supply calendar published on August 5. The volume signals that municipal governments are moving to capture demand while developer appetite for core-city land remains intact.
Beijing accounts for seven residential plots with a total starting price of 21.67 billion yuan, spread across Chaoyang district's Guangqu Road, the Liangxiang University Town area of Fangshan, Matouzhuang in Shunyi, Sijiqing in Haidian, Liuniangfu and Apple Park in Shijingshan, and Tongzhou's old town. Six of the seven are scheduled for the first half of the month, with the Tongzhou parcel held back until late August.
Shanghai will run its seventh and eighth batches of the year, offering seven residential plots with a combined starting price of 23.858 billion yuan. Guangzhou supplies the balance of the 17-plot total.
August tier-one land supply
| City | Residential plots | Total starting price |
|---|---|---|
| Beijing | 7 | 21.67 billion yuan |
| Shanghai | 7 (batches 7 and 8) | 23.858 billion yuan |
| Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou combined | 17 | more than 55.1 billion yuan |
July set an aggressive benchmark
The August offering follows an unusually competitive July. On July 28 the three cities held simultaneous auctions that produced several high-price and high-premium results. In Shanghai, Poly Developments and China Resources Land jointly paid 16.12 billion yuan for the Badaitou site in Yangpu district at a 35.83% premium, with an accommodation value above 102,000 yuan per square metre. In Beijing, China Overseas Land secured the Jiuxianqiao plot for 4.68 billion yuan at a 25.84% premium. Hangzhou and Shenzhen also recorded high-premium sales in the same window.
Driven by competition for core locations, the average premium rate across 300 monitored cities reached 11.9% in July. That was below June's reading but still among the highest levels recorded this year.
Shanghai's seventh batch opened on August 4 with five plots selling for a combined 9.06 billion yuan against a starting total of 8.339 billion yuan. Three sites in Pudong's Tangzhen, Jiading's Nanxiang and Pudong's Sunqiao drew premiums, while parcels in Hongkou's North Bund and Jiading's Juyuan cleared at reserve. The Tangzhen plot attracted four bidders and 47 rounds of bidding before selling for 1.58 billion yuan at a 28.45% premium, an accommodation value of about 48,000 yuan per square metre, to a partnership of Shanghai Hongrun (China Merchants) and Hangzhou Lvtou (HK CTS).
What to watch
- Premium dispersion: Core plots continue to clear well above reserve while peripheral parcels sell at floor prices, a split that has widened all year.
- Buyer concentration: State-linked developers Poly, China Resources and China Overseas dominate the winners' list, reflecting who can still access financing.
- Fiscal stakes: National land sales revenue fell 31.5% in the first half of 2026, making tier-one auction proceeds disproportionately important to municipal budgets.
With Beijing having eased purchase restrictions on August 8 and Shanghai leading the country on new-home price growth in July, developers bidding this month are effectively underwriting a view that core-city demand will hold through 2027 delivery cycles.