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

As the first quarter of 2026 approaches its conclusion, the luxury property market in the four major first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen has experienced a significant reshuffling of its landscape, with market differentiation becoming increasingly pronounced.

According to data from CRIC, as of March 22, the number of online signed transactions for high-end residential properties priced over 30 million yuan in first-tier cities has increased by 14% year-on-year, demonstrating a counter-trend independent market; meanwhile, transactions for residential properties priced over 10 million yuan have decreased by 37% year-on-year (excluding hotel-style apartments), with the mid-to-high-end residential market and the top luxury market moving in completely opposite directions.

Among them, the luxury markets in Guangzhou and Shenzhen have seen explosive growth, with both experiencing transaction growth rates surpassing 100%, significantly outpacing Beijing and Shanghai. As of March 22, Shenzhen recorded 12 transactions of luxury properties priced at over 100 million yuan, nearing last year’s total of 13 transactions for the entire year; Guangzhou has also seen the emergence of a luxury property priced at 28,000 yuan per square meter, totaling 187 million yuan, setting a record for the highest unit price of newly launched luxury properties in Guangzhou in nearly two years.

Guangzhou and Shenzhen’s luxury property transaction growth rates exceeding 100% surpass Beijing and Shanghai.

The reporter from Daily Economic News noted that since the beginning of the year, the luxury property market in first-tier cities has begun to show clear differentiation. Specifically, transactions for high-end residential properties priced in the tens of millions have cooled down, while the top luxury market priced over 30 million yuan has risen against the trend, with significant widening of the transaction growth rate gap between cities.

CRIC data shows that as of March 22, a total of 3,044 units of residential properties priced over 10 million yuan were transacted across the four major first-tier cities, representing 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 directly, with a total of 548 high-end residential transactions in this price range across the four major first-tier cities, up 14% year-on-year, 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 both exceeding 100%, significantly outpacing Beijing and Shanghai.

Shenzhen’s performance has been particularly outstanding, with a cumulative total of 168 transactions of luxury properties priced over 30 million yuan as of March 22, marking a year-on-year increase of 154.55%; the average daily transaction stands at 2.07 units, a 132.6% increase from last year’s fourth quarter average of 0.89 units. Guangzhou follows closely, with a cumulative total of 73 transactions as of March 20, representing a year-on-year increase of 128.13%, and an average daily transaction of 0.90 units, achieving a doubling compared to last year’s fourth quarter.

Shanghai remains the “ballast” for total transactions of luxury properties priced over 30 million yuan, leading with 229 transactions, but is affected by supply contraction and last year’s high base, resulting in a year-on-year decline of 27.99%, and the average daily transaction has decreased by 28.9% compared to last year’s fourth quarter, with growth momentum weakening. Beijing recorded 78 transactions, a year-on-year increase of 20%, but the daily average transaction is less than one unit, with growth strength far behind that of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The transaction pattern of luxury properties priced in the hundreds of millions more reflects the strength of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, where these cities have directly surpassed Beijing and Shanghai in this price segment. As of March 22, Shenzhen recorded 12 transactions of luxury properties priced over 100 million yuan, with 10 units coming from the CITIC City Development Xinyue Bay and 2 units from the Houhai Yongxi Garden, with the average registered price for CITIC City Development Xinyue Bay reaching 244,000 yuan per square meter, setting a new high for average prices of luxury properties in Shenzhen in recent years.

CRIC analysis indicates that Guangzhou has recorded 7 transactions of luxury properties priced over 100 million yuan as of March 20, with 5 units coming from Poly Yuxi Bay. At the beginning of March, a property in this project priced at 28,000 yuan per square meter and totaling 187 million yuan had not yet been included in the online signing, which will further boost Guangzhou’s transaction data for luxury properties priced over 100 million yuan.

From the market performance perspective, the leading real estate companies in Guangzhou have shown outstanding results in the first quarter of this year. On March 26, a reporter from Daily Economic News learned from insiders at Poly Development that several high-end residential projects in the “Zhujiang New Town - Machang” area have recently gained much attention, reigniting the heat in the golden triangle of Zhujiang New Town’s core area.

“Since March, Poly Tianyi has shown strong market performance, with a clear ‘little spring’ effect, accumulating over 650 visits, achieving daily sales of 10 units and weekly sales of 20 units, with total sales exceeding 500 million yuan to date,” a representative from the Poly Tianyi project revealed to the reporter.

“The increase in luxury property transactions (sales) has at least a positive significance for stabilizing prices in the short term, of course, the effect depends on whether it can promote upgrades on the supply side in terms of product strength, supporting facilities, etc., to create quality properties and activate demand,” said Li Yujia, chief researcher at the Guangdong Provincial Housing Policy Research Center.

However, Li Yujia also mentioned that because the luxury property market is relatively niche, while both new and second-hand property markets are currently dominated by low total price transactions, the impact of luxury property transactions on the overall real estate market is limited and should be viewed cautiously.

Concentrated Supply in Guangzhou and Shenzhen Luxury Properties

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

The reporter has found that by the end of 2025, the Shenzhen luxury property market had already experienced a supply explosion, with four benchmark projects: Houhai Yongxi Garden, CITIC City Development Xinyue Bay, Houhai China Merchants Xi, and Lianthai Chaozong Bay, collectively bringing 668 units to the market, with a total value reaching hundreds of billions.

CRIC data shows that in the fourth quarter of 2025, the supply area of luxury properties priced over 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, whereas there was zero supply in the same period last year, with a large amount of new supply gradually converting into signed transactions in the first quarter.

“Looking back at the past transaction situation in the luxury property market, a similar trend was also observed in 2024, when the total transaction of luxury properties priced over 30 million yuan in 30 key cities increased year-on-year by 65%, showing a characteristic of ‘the more expensive, the more bought’. This trend continues into 2026, with high-net-worth individuals’ property purchases consistently moving to higher total price segments,” the CRIC Deep Consulting and Purui Intelligent Research Center analyzed to the reporter on the morning of March 26.

In comparison to Shenzhen’s luxury property market accelerating at the end of last year, Guangzhou’s luxury property market saw a speed-up in supply rhythm in late March. According to monitoring data from Purui’s Guangzhou-Foshan region, since late March, the pace of obtaining permits for properties in Guangzhou has significantly accelerated, with approximately 28 popular properties expected to launch in March.

It is worth mentioning that the luxury projects entering the market in Guangzhou are mostly located in key areas of the central district.

For instance, Houhai Yongxi Garden is situated in Shenzhen’s traditional luxury property area, only about 400 meters from Shenzhen Bay No. 1. This plot was acquired by a joint venture of China Resources and COFCO for 18.512 billion yuan after 295 rounds of bidding, with a premium rate of 46.31% and a floor price exceeding 70,000 yuan per square meter. During the second round of launch on March 22, the 216 square meter and 408 square meter units were sold out immediately. In just four months, the sales amount has exceeded 23.9 billion yuan.

In Guangzhou, the Machang plot was sold for 23.604 billion yuan in February 2026, with a premium rate of 26.6% and a floor price exceeding 80,000 yuan per square meter, which has also revitalized the second-hand luxury properties in the Zhujiang New Town area, with sellers 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 property market in Zhujiang New Town has shown a “dual increase in volume and price” for eight consecutive weeks, with 83 transactions in January. Other data indicates that February, being a traditional off-season, still saw the second-hand online signing volume in Zhujiang New Town reach 60 units.

“After the sale of the Machang plot, the luxury property owners in the Zhujiang New Town area have clearly become more reluctant to sell,” a real estate agent in Zhujiang New Town, Guangzhou, told the reporter on the afternoon of March 26. After the auction of the Machang plot, it is estimated that the breakeven selling price for the plot is about 16,000 yuan per square meter, which essentially sets a “floor price” for the core area of Zhujiang New Town, but the transaction prices of surrounding second-hand top luxury properties (such as Qiaoxin Huiyue Tai and Kaixuan New World) generally range from 17,000 to 30,000 yuan per square meter, which highlights the cost-performance ratio in contrast to the “flour price” (usually referring to land acquisition costs).