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 nears its end, the luxury housing market in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen has experienced a clear reshuffling of patterns, with market segmentation becoming increasingly pronounced.

According to CRIC data, as of March 22, high-end residential transactions priced above 30 million yuan in first-tier cities increased by 14% year-on-year, breaking the trend and showing independent growth; meanwhile, transactions of commercial residential properties priced above 10 million yuan declined by 37% year-on-year (excluding hotel-style apartments), with the mid-to-high-end and top luxury markets moving in opposite directions.

Among them, Guangzhou and Shenzhen saw explosive growth in luxury housing, with transaction growth rates surpassing 100%, far outpacing Beijing and Shanghai. As of March 22, Shenzhen had completed 12 transactions of luxury homes over 100 million yuan, nearly matching last year’s total of 13; Guangzhou saw a top luxury listing with a unit price of 280,000 yuan per square meter and a total price of 187 million yuan, setting a new record for Guangzhou’s top-tier new luxury homes in the past two years.

Shenzhen and Guangzhou luxury home transactions grew over 100%

Surpassing Beijing and Shanghai

The Daily Economic News reporter noted that since the beginning of the year, the luxury housing markets in first-tier cities have also begun to show clear differentiation. Specifically: transactions of high-end homes around 10 million yuan have cooled, while the top luxury market above 30 million yuan has defied the trend and grown, with significant widening of transaction growth gaps between cities.

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

However, when the price threshold was raised to 30 million yuan, the market trend reversed directly. The high-end residential segment in these cities saw a total of 548 transactions, up 14% year-on-year, making it one of the few growth sectors in the real estate market.

In terms of city performance, Guangzhou and Shenzhen became the main drivers, with transaction growth rates exceeding 100%, significantly surpassing Beijing and Shanghai.

Shenzhen’s performance was particularly striking, with a total of 168 transactions of luxury homes over 30 million yuan as of March 22, a 154.55% increase year-on-year; the average daily transaction was 2.07 units, a 132.6% increase from the average of 0.89 units per day in the last quarter of 2025. Guangzhou followed closely, with 73 units sold by March 20, up 128.13% year-on-year; the average daily transactions reached 0.90 units, doubling compared to the last quarter of 2025.

Shanghai remains the “ballast stone” for transactions of luxury homes over 30 million yuan, with 229 units sold, ranking first, but due to reduced supply and last year’s high base, it declined by 27.99% year-on-year. The average daily transactions decreased by 28.9% compared to the last quarter of 2025, indicating a slowdown in momentum. Beijing sold 78 units, up 20% year-on-year, but with less than one unit per day on average, its growth was far less than that of Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

The transaction pattern for homes over 100 million yuan better reflects the strength of Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In this price segment, these two cities have directly surpassed Beijing and Shanghai. As of March 22, Shenzhen sold 12 homes over 100 million yuan, including 10 from CITIC City Development Xinyue Bay and 2 from Houhai Yunxi Garden. The average price of units at CITIC City Development Xinyue Bay reached 244,000 yuan per square meter, setting a new high for Shenzhen luxury homes in recent years.

CRIC analysis indicates that Guangzhou sold 7 homes over 100 million yuan by March 20, five of which were from Poly Yuexiyuan. A property priced at 280,000 yuan per square meter and valued at 187 million yuan in early March had not yet been registered, which is expected to further boost Guangzhou’s transaction data for homes over 100 million yuan.

From the market perspective, top projects by leading developers in Guangzhou performed notably in the first quarter. On March 26, a reporter from Daily Economic News learned from internal sources at Poly Development that several high-end residential projects in the “Zhujiang New Town-Machang” area have been very popular recently, reigniting the enthusiasm for the “Golden Triangle” of Zhujiang and Panyu in Guangzhou’s core area.

“Since March, Poly Tianyi has performed strongly, with a clear ‘small spring’ effect, attracting over 650 visits, achieving sales of 10 units in a single day and 20 units in a week, with total sales exceeding 500 million yuan,” a project representative told the reporter.

Guangzhou luxury home Poly Tianyi project site Photo source: interviewee provided

“An increase in luxury home transactions (sales), at least in terms of unit prices, is positive for short-term price stability. Of course, the effect depends on whether supply-side upgrades in product quality and supporting facilities can be achieved to create quality homes and stimulate demand,” said Li Yujia, chief researcher at the Guangdong Housing Policy Research Center.

However, Li Yujia also pointed out that because the luxury market is niche and both new and second-hand markets are currently dominated by low total prices, the overall impact of luxury transactions on the broader real estate market is limited, and caution is needed.

Supply集中放量推动广深豪宅增长

The rapid growth of luxury housing in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, leading the first-tier cities, is partly related to the concentrated supply of luxury projects in these areas.

The Daily Economic News found that by the end of 2025, Shenzhen’s luxury housing market had already experienced a supply surge, with four flagship projects—Houhai Yunxi Garden, CITIC City Development Xinyue Bay, Houhai Zhaoxi, and Lian Tai Chaozui Bay—adding a total of 668 units, with a total value of hundreds of billions of yuan.

CRIC data shows that in Q4 2025, Shenzhen’s supply of homes over 30 million yuan increased 1.3 times year-on-year. As of March 22, 2026, the supply in this price range approached 50,000 square meters, compared to zero in the same period last year. The large increase in supply has gradually translated into online transactions in the first quarter.

“Looking back at past luxury market transactions, a similar trend appeared in 2024, when the total value of homes over 30 million yuan in 30 key cities increased by 65% year-on-year, showing a ‘buy more expensive’ characteristic. This trend has continued into 2026, with high-net-worth individuals increasingly moving up the price segments,” said CRIC’s Deep Consulting and Pru Smart Research Center on the morning of March 26.

Compared to Shenzhen’s accelerated market at the end of last year, Guangzhou’s luxury supply pace has picked up in late March. According to Pru’s data monitoring for the Guangzhou-Foshan area, the pace of project approvals in Guangzhou has significantly increased since late March, with about 28 popular projects expected to launch new units in March.

It is worth noting that most luxury projects in Guangzhou are located in the city’s central districts.

For example, Houhai Yunxi Garden is located in Shenzhen’s traditional luxury area, about 400 meters from Shenzhen Bay 1. The land was acquired by a joint venture of China Resources and China Overseas 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 launch on March 22, units of 216 square meters and 408 square meters valued at over 1 billion yuan sold out immediately. In four months since opening, sales have exceeded 23.9 billion yuan.

In Guangzhou, the Ma Chang 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. This has also driven a recovery in the secondary luxury market in Zhujiang New Town, with owners’ reluctance to sell increasing.

According to data released by Guangzhou Centaline Research and Development in early March, the secondary luxury market in Zhujiang New Town has experienced eight consecutive weeks of “rising both in volume and price,” with 83 units sold in January. Data also shows that February, traditionally a slow season, saw 60 second-hand transactions in Zhujiang New Town.

“After the Ma Chang plot was sold, luxury homeowners in Zhujiang New Town became noticeably more reluctant to sell,” a Guangzhou Zhujiang New Town agent told the reporter on March 26 afternoon. “The land was sold at a price of about 160,000 yuan per square meter, which is roughly the ‘floor price’ for the core area of Zhujiang New Town. But the transaction prices for nearby second-hand top luxury homes (such as Qiaoxin Huiyue Tai and Kai Xuan New World) are generally between 170,000 and 300,000 yuan per square meter, making the ‘cost’ (land acquisition cost) seem relatively low by comparison, and the value for money is more apparent.”