GRA Market Weekly (2026-05-15)

Policy Watch

Hunan releases the new "Ten Hunan Measures" with 38 steps to further promote steady, healthy property market development

On 13 May, nine Hunan provincial departments jointly issued Several Measures to Further Promote the Steady and Healthy Development of the Provincial Property Market - the "new Ten Hunan Measures" - bringing new benefits for residents buying, trading up and renting homes. The package is an optimisation and upgrade of the 2025 Several Measures to Promote the Steady and Healthy Development of Hunan's Property Market, comprising 38 measures in ten categories and covering areas closely tied to residents' interests, including new provident fund policies and the "Three Ones" housing programme.

Qingdao issues policy measures supporting high-quality property market development

The Qingdao Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau and six other departments recently issued a circular on Several Policy Measures Supporting High-Quality Real Estate Development in Qingdao. Key measures include:

Supporting owner-led renewal of aging homes
Demolition and rebuilding in situ
Encouraging the development of health and elderly-care property
Launching a pilot for home purchases by rural residents

Market Watch

Shanghai: Haier Industrial Development acquires Tower S3 at Qiantan Hui en bloc for c. RMB 700 m at c. RMB 55,000/sqm

Market sources recently reported that Haier Industrial Development, a Haier Group unit, acquired Tower S3 at Qiantan Hui - a core landmark in the Qiantan International Business District in Pudong, Shanghai - en bloc for c. RMB 700 m. The office building has GFA of c. 13,300 sqm, equating to a unit price of c. RMB 55,000/sqm.

Qiantan Hui, formerly known as Qiantan Sifang City, was developed by Lujiazui Group and designed by leading global architecture practice KPF (whose works include One World Trade Center in New York and Shanghai World Financial Center). The scheme has total GFA of c. 410,000 sqm, comprising 11 standalone Grade A office buildings of 8-11 storeys plus c. 59,000 sqm of retail streetscape known as Qiantan Park Lane.

Corporate Watch

H World: signs with Guangzhou SASAC, planning c. 300 hotels and c. RMB 10 bn of investment over three years

On 13 May, Guangzhou SASAC and H World Group signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement. Guangzhou's state-owned assets and enterprises and H World will work on the principles of "equality and mutual benefit, complementary strengths, long-term cooperation and shared development", combining government guidance with market-based execution under market-oriented and rule-of-law principles, to pursue "comprehensive, multi-layered, innovation-focused and substantive" strategic cooperation centred on existing asset revitalisation, culture and tourism, hotel management and asset securitisation.

Over the next three years, H World will aim to invest in c. 300 hotels in Guangzhou with total investment of c. RMB 10 bn, injecting tangible momentum into the city's cultural and tourism industry upgrading and investment promotion work.

Overseas Watch

Japan: five largest property companies post record results, with Mitsui Fudosan revenue at a record for a 14th consecutive year

Latest results released on 13 May show that in their consolidated accounts for the year ended March 2026, all five of Japan's largest property companies (Mitsui Fudosan, Mitsubishi Estate, Sumitomo Realty & Development, Tokyu Fudosan Holdings and Nomura Real Estate Holdings) posted record highs in both revenue and net profit. The core driver of this strong performance was not residential sales but the robust performance of office leasing and sales. Mitsui Fudosan's revenue for the year to March 2026 reached JPY 2.7097 trn, up 3.2% YoY, while net profit rose 12% to JPY 278.6 bn. Notably, Mitsui Fudosan's revenue has now set a record for 14 consecutive years.

Against a turbulent global economic backdrop, Japan's property market has broken out as the dark horse. The first quarter of 2025 brought a strong start, with investment data repeatedly setting records and drawing global investor attention. Per JLL, Japanese real estate investment reached JPY 2.952 trn in January-March 2025, up 23% YoY - a quarterly record and the first time above JPY 2 trn since data collection began in 2007. Globally, investment volume over the same period grew 34% to USD 185 bn, making Japan's increase stand out, while China fell 33%. Tokyo led all global cities with USD 11 bn of investment, well ahead of New York (USD 7.3 bn) and Dallas-Fort Worth (USD 6.3 bn).