Luxury / brief
Luxury Home Sales in China’s Top Cities Rise 38% as Wealthy Buyers Splurge
Sales of high-end homes priced between 30 million and 50 million yuan climbed 38% in the first half, driven by wealthy buyers from China’s tech boom. Analysts caution the uptick is too small to signal a broader property market recovery.
Luxury home sales in mainland China’s major cities have gained momentum, with wealthy individuals pouring billions of yuan into upgraded housing. According to a real estate consultancy, sales of residences priced between 30 million and 50 million yuan jumped 38% in the first half of the year.
The surge is largely attributed to high-net-worth buyers who have benefited from the country’s booming technology sector. These buyers are investing in premium properties in top-tier cities, bucking the broader downturn that has plagued the mainland property market since 2021.
However, industry analysts stress that the luxury segment represents only a fraction of the overall real estate market. The increase in sales and prices at the upper end is not enough to reverse the industry's wider slump. “Most middle- and low-income people are still taking a cautious stance on homebuying,” said You Liangzhou, owner of the Baonuo property agency in Shanghai. “It is too early to conclude that a full-scale recovery has taken shape.”
The real estate sector, along with related industries such as home appliances and construction materials, accounts for roughly a quarter of China’s economic output. The property crisis traces back to mid-2020, when regulators imposed borrowing limits on developers, triggering a wave of defaults among major firms including China Evergrande Group. These defaults have since weighed heavily on the world’s second-largest economy, underscoring the deep structural challenges that persist despite the luxury niche’s resilience.