China’s top real estate developers continue to shrink, according to industry data.
The number of mainland property developers achieving annual contracted sales of at least 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion) dropped to just 10 in 2025 from a peak of 43 in 2020, research firm China Real Estate Information Corporation (CRIC) said in a report on Sunday.
Among the top 10 developers, only one, China Jinmao Holdings, reported year-on-year growth in sales, according to CRIC.
The ranks of developers in the 100 billion yuan club, a key indicator of scale in the sector, have shrunk sharply since Beijing introduced the “three red lines” policy in 2020, which tightened financing to cool an overheated market. The number was 20 in 2022, 17 in 2023 and 11 in 2024.
Homebuyers’ confidence now remained subdued, while risks in the market persisted, and as a result, developers’ overall sales continued to face “significant challenges”, CRIC said.
The years-long downturn in China’s property sector, which once accounted for around a quarter of China’s economy, has weighed on everything from employment to consumption.