2026 Top 500 Real Estate Enterprises Released, Leading Companies Reranked

Ask AI · How does China Resources Land achieve a ranking leap through business operations?

On March 18, the “2026 Top 500 Comprehensive Strengths of Real Estate Development Companies” research report was officially released.

2025 is a critical year for the real estate industry to transition from adjustment and stabilization to high-quality development. Despite overall flat market conditions, some real estate companies have seen significant performance rebounds, especially among small and medium-sized private enterprises, with industry sales expected to stabilize more quickly.

According to the research, China Resources, Poly Developments, and China Overseas remain the top three among the “Top 500” companies. Among them, China Resources Land, leveraging its commercial operation business to build a second growth curve advantage, moved from third place in 2025 to first place in 2026.

Dividing the headquarters regions of the Top 500 real estate companies, South China accounts for 23.0%, North China 14.6%, Western regions 9.2%, Northeast 3.0%, with all regions showing an increase compared to last year. The Western region has notably risen, with the proportion of companies increasing by 2.2 percentage points, the largest growth among all regions.

Additionally, the report also released the Top 10 comprehensive strengths of commercial real estate development companies in 2026, Top 10 urban investment companies, Top 10 private real estate development pioneers, and Top 10 operational performance of real estate development companies.

Note: The “Top 500 Comprehensive Strengths of Real Estate Development Companies” study is hosted by the China Real Estate Industry Association and supported by the Shanghai E-House Research Institute. It has been conducted for eighteen consecutive years. Its findings and reports are recognized within the industry and have become an important standard for evaluating the overall strength and industry position of real estate development companies.

The research shows that the top three in 2026 are China Resources Land, Poly Developments, and China Overseas. China Resources Land has risen to first place, while Poly Developments and China Overseas have fallen to second and third, respectively. China Merchants Shekou, Greentown, Yuexiu, Jianfa, Longfor, Huafa, and Jinmao rank fourth to tenth.

The ranking changes among leading real estate companies in 2026 are relatively significant. Compared to 2025, the top 10 have a change rate of 20%, while the top 50, top 100, and top 500 have change rates of 14%, 14%, and 17.2%, respectively. Companies that have improved their rankings generally operate steadily, with strong product offerings. State-owned enterprises like Jianfa, China State Construction First, and China Construction East Fuzhou have seen relatively large increases.

Dividing the headquarters of the Top 500 companies by region, East China accounts for 39.0%, South China 23.0%, North China 14.6%, Central China 11.0%, Western regions 9.2%, and Northeast 3.0%.

From regional share changes, South China, North China, Western regions, and Northeast all saw increases compared to last year. The Western region’s proportion increased by 2.2 percentage points, the largest growth.

Specifically, in the Western region, Sichuan and Chongqing have the highest number of companies, with 15 and 10 respectively. This is closely related to the sustained high transaction volumes in Chengdu and Chongqing’s first- and second-hand housing markets in recent years. Under the continued development of the Chengdu-Chongqing twin-city economic circle, the Western region is rising.

In 2025, nationwide new commercial housing sales area was 88.101 million square meters, down 8.7% year-on-year; sales revenue was 8.3937 trillion yuan, down 12.6%.

Against the backdrop of overall market contraction, the market continues to show “total volume shrinking and structural differentiation” features. Over 70% of the top 100 companies saw a decline in sales revenue year-on-year. A few central state-owned enterprises and high-quality private companies showed relatively strong cyclical resilience, with significant performance rebounds, such as China Construction East Fuzhou, Lujiazui, and Bond Group, with sales revenue growth exceeding 70%.

According to the results, in 2025, the top 10, top 50, top 100, and top 200 companies accounted for approximately 41%, 67%, 82%, and 89% of the total sales revenue of the Top 500, respectively. Compared to 2024’s 39%, 69%, 81%, and 92%, the sales concentration of the top 10 companies has increased, with market share increasingly concentrated among leading firms. The sales concentration among the top 200 has decreased, and some lower-ranked regional small and medium-sized companies saw year-on-year sales growth.

In terms of investment, many regions introduced favorable land market policies in 2025, improving land supply quality and boosting developers’ enthusiasm for land acquisition. Meanwhile, in recent years, developers have reduced land purchases, but as existing land stock is developed, some companies are increasingly willing to replenish their land reserves. The report states that in 2025, the top 30 companies added land worth 701.2 billion yuan, up 7.85% year-on-year. Leading companies’ land acquisition amounts have rebounded compared to the previous year. Regarding the types of land buyers, central state-owned enterprises remain the main force, maintaining leading scale, while private developers’ investment confidence is showing signs of recovery.

Since 2025, the main theme of real estate investment has been “caution” and “focus.” State-owned enterprises leverage their capital advantages and financing ease to continuously replenish high-quality land reserves. Private developers focus on core cities and deepen their presence, with increased land acquisition enthusiasm compared to last year. In recent years, among the top 20 land-acquiring companies, the proportion of central state-owned enterprises increased from 40% in 2021 to 85% in 2024, then slightly decreased to 80% in 2025. The land market remains dominated by central state-owned enterprises, while private developers’ land acquisition share is low but gradually recovering.

The report indicates that in 2025, real estate policies became more relaxed and upgraded. Central and local governments aimed primarily at “stabilizing the real estate market” and “promoting high-quality development,” balancing short-term market stabilization with long-term transformation. A series of supportive policies were introduced from both supply and demand sides, including housing security measures. Under the complex macroeconomic environment and ongoing policy optimization, the real estate market shows signs of “price and volume stabilization and structural differentiation.”

In 2025, real estate companies focused on steady development. Leading companies largely completed delivery tasks, significantly reducing delivery risks. Improving product quality became the core of competition, with companies aligning with the “good housing” construction standards, emphasizing product strength, and deepening marketing reforms—shifting from “channel dominance” to “content dominance”—to meet the needs of the stock era. Overall, real estate companies are transforming towards higher quality, diversification, and efficiency, steadily responding to industry adjustments.

The report states that the core task for the industry in 2026 is to promote stable market operation. Policies are expected to continue improving the institutional framework for new development models, with the supply side adhering to principles of controlling incremental supply, destocking, and optimizing supply, adjusting land supply rhythm, and activating existing assets. On the demand side, targeted measures will be introduced to reduce housing costs and fully release rigid and improved housing demand. For companies, as the industry moves away from the urbanization-driven expansion phase, they need to actively strengthen internal capabilities, improve product strength, meet changing housing preferences, explore structural demands across different cities and groups, and open new growth paths.

Appendix: 2026 Top 500 Real Estate Development Companies and Special Research Results