A blockbuster land auction in Guangzhou has delivered the city’s highest ever price per square-metre for residential property, fuelling optimism that the long-sluggish housing market may be turning a corner in 2026, multiple outlets report. That the sale also happened to be Guangzhou’s first for the new lunar year is being considered an auspicious sign.
A prime mixed-use site in Zhujiang New Town was sold to Yuexiu Group for 23.6 billion yuan (US$3.4 billion) on Wednesday after nearly nine hours and 243 rounds of bidding among eight developers, according to the Guangzhou Public Resources Trading Center.
The residential portion of the site achieved a floor price of 85,000 yuan (US$12,400) per square metre; a 26.6 percent premium over the starting price and well above the city’s previous record of 75,700 (US$11,000) yuan set in late 2023. While it did not surpass Guangzhou’s all-time total land-price record from 2009 (the 25.5 billion yuan Guangzhou Asian Games City project), the unit price milestone has been hailed as a benchmark shift for the market.
[See more: Shenzhen is preparing a hefty rescue package for China Vanke: report]
Analysts said the result signalled renewed confidence among developers after the years of market adjustment across the Chinese mainland that followed behemoth developer Evergrande buckling under its massive debt burden in 2021.
Xiao Wenxiao, chief analyst for the Guangzhou-Foshan region at real estate think tank Purui Digital Intelligence Technology, told Yicai Global that he believed Guangzhou’s property market would emerge from its downturn this year. He also noted that March tended to mark a seasonal pickup in transactions, which would likely be further boosted by the recent nationwide lifting of restrictive housing policies that contributed to China’s prolonged property crisis.
The just-sold land plot has been described as the last “prime” site in Zhujiang New Town and sits in the heart of the city’s CBD. The former horse-racing track was converted into a commercial hub focused on autos back in 1999. The site has been slated for a large-scale commercial and residential redevelopment since 2021, with plans including a high-end shopping mall, an internationally branded five-star hotel, serviced apartments and public facilities.
