Cumulative Sales and the Narrowing Trend
China's 100 largest property developers recorded combined sales of 1,804.21 billion yuan in the first seven months of 2026, according to data from the China Index Academy. The year-on-year decline narrowed by 0.6 percentage points compared with the January-June figure, marking the fifth consecutive month in which the rate of decline has eased.
That sequence of narrowing declines has become the industry's central talking point. It does not yet amount to growth, but it does suggest the sector is grinding toward a floor after several years of contraction.
Concentration Increases at the Top
Five developers exceeded 100 billion yuan in sales during the seven-month period, unchanged from a year earlier. The number of developers clearing 10 billion yuan fell to 39, down 10 from the same period of 2025 — clear evidence that the mid-tier is thinning while leaders hold ground.
The top ten ranking was unchanged from the first six months. The leading five were:
| Rank | Developer | Jan-Jul 2026 sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poly Developments | 150.0 billion yuan |
| 2 | China Overseas Land | 149.46 billion yuan |
| 3 | China Resources Land | 130.6 billion yuan |
| 4 | China Merchants Shekou | 109.86 billion yuan |
| 5 | Greentown China | 107.0 billion yuan |
July Alone Was Weak
The cumulative improvement masks a soft single month. According to the July 2026 developer sales ranking published by Purui Digital Intelligence and cited by Zhongtai Securities, top-100 developers booked 196.3 billion yuan of full-caliber sales in July, down 13.3% year on year and down 39.6% from June. The year-on-year decline widened by one percentage point from June, and the month-on-month figure turned negative after a June increase.
Only four developers cleared 10 billion yuan in July, one fewer than a year earlier:
- China Overseas Land: 15.1 billion yuan (first place for the month)
- Poly Developments: 14.9 billion yuan
- China Resources Land: 14.1 billion yuan
Performance diverged sharply. Companies ranked one to five outperformed all other tiers, while the sixth-to-fifteenth and thirty-first-to-hundredth brackets both deteriorated. Within the top 30, 15 developers posted year-on-year growth, led by China Construction Zhidi at 481.8% and Lujiazui at 355.9% — both from small bases.
Equity-Basis Data Confirms the Split
CRIC data showed representative developers achieved 137.64 billion yuan in equity-basis sales in July, bringing the January-July cumulative equity total to 1,233.22 billion yuan. Of those firms, 25 exceeded 10 billion yuan on an equity basis over seven months, 24 fell in the 5-10 billion yuan range, 34 in the 3-5 billion yuan band, and 17 between 1 billion and 3 billion yuan. China Construction Yipin, China Construction Dongfu, Poly Property, China Railway and C&D Real Estate held top-20 equity rankings.
Outlook
Zhongtai Securities framed July as a continuation of bottoming, with policy support stabilizing expectations rather than driving a rebound. With Beijing easing purchase rules on August 8 and provident fund ceilings raised to as much as 3.4 million yuan, developers with heavy exposure to first-tier core projects are best positioned for any August-September recovery in signed contracts.