Real estate companies' sales stabilized and rebounded in September, with improved housing becoming the main driving force. According to incomplete statistics from Beijing Business Daily reporters, as of October 15th, among the 24 real estate companies that have disclosed sales data for September, 15 real estate companies including Poly Developments, China Overseas Development (hereinafter referred to as "Zhonghai"), and Greentown China have seen a month on month increase in sales, accounting for 62.5%. This round of recovery is closely related to the previous adjustment of land acquisition strategies of real estate enterprises, which combined with the entry of "good house" products to the market, and together pushed up the market share of improved housing. Industry insiders point out that a differentiated pricing strategy is also key: small-sized units attract customers through "price for quantity", while improved housing units achieve premium prices through product strength, thereby driving sales growth. According to incomplete statistics by reporters, among the 24 real estate companies that have disclosed sales data for September, the top companies have steadily developed with their scale advantages, while some medium-sized real estate companies have achieved significant growth in sales through project operations, indicating a significant recovery trend in the industry. In terms of sales scale, Poly Developments and Zhonghai both exceeded 20 billion yuan in September, with sales of 20.531 billion yuan and 20.173 billion yuan respectively, firmly ranking in the first tier; China Resources Land, China Merchants Shekou, and Greentown China followed closely behind with sales of 17.6 billion yuan, 16.698 billion yuan, and 12.8 billion yuan, respectively. Companies such as Poly Developments, Zhonghai, Greentown China, and China Jinmao have achieved three consecutive months of month on month growth in sales with sufficient land reserves and mature operational capabilities. Taking Zhonghai as an example, its on sale projects include 9 such as Zhonghai Lijin Mansion and Zhonghai Wanji Jiuxu, covering high-end luxury homes, improved and essential products to meet different housing needs. This product layout has driven Zhonghai to achieve "three consecutive increases" in sales from July to September, with sales of 11.85 billion yuan, 18.33 billion yuan, and 20.173 billion yuan respectively, showing a steady growth momentum. Some medium-sized real estate companies rely on the market popularity of "red plate" projects to drive sales. For example, Yuexiu Property achieved sales of 6.801 billion yuan in September, a month on month increase of 23.54%. Although the number of projects on sale is not as high as that of Zhonghai, sales have steadily increased thanks to the market recognition of popular projects such as Heyue Yuming, Heyue Wangyun, Xiangshan Yue, and Xingyao Future. From the perspective of sales growth, there are differences in the pace of recovery among real estate companies of different scales. Among them, Rongxin China saw a significant increase of 132.31% month on month in September due to a low sales base in August; The month on month growth rates of Jindi Commercial Holdings, Yuexiu Property, Greentown China, and Poly Developments are also prominent, with 55.43%, 23.54%, 20.75%, and 13.97% respectively. Yan Yuejin, Vice President of Shanghai E-house Real Estate Research Institute, pointed out that both sufficient land reserves and a large number of hot selling projects can help increase market share. Top real estate companies rely on their resource integration capabilities to achieve large-scale development and adapt to the environment of policy stability; Other real estate companies rely on explosive projects to cope with market fluctuations. In the future, the advantages of top real estate companies may become more apparent, while lower tier real estate companies need to strengthen product differentiation. The supply of high-quality land parcels is closely related to the growth of sales revenue of real estate enterprises in the project and their previous adjustment of land acquisition strategies. In 2024, several real estate companies have made it clear that they will optimize their land reserve structure and focus on increasing their land acquisition efforts in first and second tier cities. According to data from the Zhongzhi Research Institute, since the beginning of this year, real estate companies have continued to concentrate on acquiring land in core cities. In addition, the pace of land promotion in core cities has accelerated and the supply of high-quality land has increased, driving a year-on-year increase of about 13% in residential land transfer fees in 300 cities in the first three quarters. The popularity of land auctions is mainly concentrated in core cities, with residential land transfer fees in the top 20 cities accounting for 61% of the total national amount. Taking China Resources Land as an example, in the first half of 2025, 18 new projects were acquired, with an additional land investment equity price of 32.28 billion yuan and a total construction area of 1.48 million square meters. All new projects are located in first and second tier cities. Yuexiu Property adheres to the strategy of "focusing on core cities and deepening cultivation in core areas", with a total equity investment of 29.46 billion yuan in 2024. More than 80% of the funds are invested in first tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, with investment amounts of 9.3 billion yuan, 6.9 billion yuan, and 8.16 billion yuan, respectively. While real estate companies have a strong demand for land parcels in first and second tier cities, the increase in the supply of high-quality land parcels also provides more choices for real estate companies. Taking Beijing as an example, 22 new real estate projects were added in September, distributed in 10 regions, with nearly 6000 new housing units, most of which were high-quality land parcels previously sold. From the perspective of plot location and supporting facilities, these projects have advantages in location, transportation, and ecology. Taking the popular China Construction Canal Ninth Academy as an example, the project is adjacent to the Grand Canal and the Urban Green Heart Forest Park, about 300 meters away from the North Yunhe East Station of Metro Line 6, and close to the comprehensive transportation hub of the sub center station. High quality land parcel attributes drive project sales. China Construction Canal Ninth Institute obtained the pre-sale certificate on September 13th and opened for sale 7 days later. As of October 14th, 764 units have signed contracts for 512 units, with a conversion rate of 67.02% and an average transaction price of about 61500 yuan/square meter. In addition, the auction of the Chaoyang Sun Palace plot in Beijing on September 30th also attracted 9 real estate companies including Poly Developments and China Merchants Shekou to participate in the competition. In the end, China Construction Intelligent Land won the bid with a premium rate of 39.18% after 339 rounds of bidding. The plot is fully equipped with supporting facilities and is the first residential land supply in the area since June 2022. Cao Jingjing, General Manager of the Index Research Department of Zhongzhi Research Institute, stated that the land parcels won by real estate companies in core cities in the first half of the year are expected to enter the market gradually in the fourth quarter. The improvement in supply is expected to provide some support for new house sales, but the market differentiation trend will continue. Product strength has become the key to sales recovery. Against the backdrop of a continuous increase in the supply of high-quality land, the introduction of the "good house" standard has provided more high-quality living room choices for homebuyers. Yan Yuejin pointed out that the rebound of the "Golden September" real estate market is not only due to favorable policies that lower the threshold for home purchases and unleash potential demand, but also fundamentally due to the increased market attractiveness of new real estate products. From a policy perspective, since August, core cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen have successively optimized their purchase restriction policies: Beijing has clearly stated that eligible households are not limited in the number of units they can purchase outside the Fifth Ring Road, while Shanghai has relaxed the limit on the number of units they can purchase outside the Fifth Ring Road for eligible households. Policy optimization continues to release the demand for home purchases, while the entry of "good houses" into the market further widens the intergenerational gap between new and second-hand houses, stimulating the willingness of home buyers to purchase properties. The yield rate of "good houses" products generally exceeds 90%; The clubhouse facilities are fully equipped to meet the needs of homeowners who can enjoy entertainment, fitness, and other activities without leaving the community; The design of elevated floors, wind and rain corridors, etc. also provides leisure activity space for owners in rainy and snowy weather. The upgrade of living quality meets the core demands of the improvement oriented customer group and promotes their accelerated entry into the market. According to data from the Zhongzhi Research Institute, from January to August 2025, 24 out of 30 representative cities will see an increase in the proportion of completed units of 120 square meters or more. In terms of segmented area, the proportion of product transactions between 120-144 square meters has increased in 21 cities, and the proportion of product transactions above 144 square meters has increased in 22 cities. The changes in the Beijing market are particularly evident. From January to August 2025, nearly 5400 sets of essential products below 90 square meters were sold, accounting for 22.5%, a decrease of 3.8 percentage points compared to the same period in 2024; About 17000 sets of improved products with an area of 90-200 square meters were sold, accounting for 71.1%, an increase of 5 percentage points compared to the same period in 2024. Taking the pricing strategy of the Zijing Chenyuan project for sale as an example, a 133 square meter small-sized unit attracts customers and promotes transactions at a relatively low unit price of about 93000 yuan/square meter; The 232 square meter large unit is priced at a relatively high unit price of about 105000 yuan per square meter, forming a nearly double total price difference through larger area and higher unit price, achieving profit growth and forming a pricing logic of exchanging price for quantity for small units and profit from premium for large units. The increase in the proportion of improved housing units has become a key driving force for the growth of sales for real estate companies. Xie Yifeng, President of the China Urban Real Estate Research Institute, stated that the current sales in the real estate market are showing a differentiated path: most first-time homebuyers improve their cost-effectiveness and increase transaction volume through "price for quantity"; Improved housing and high-end residences rely on high-quality product design and high-end market positioning to break through price and layout restrictions and achieve higher sales volume. (New Society)