A fierce competition centered on wealth and premium product quality is underway, with prices starting well above 100,000 yuan per square meter. For a long period, Hangzhou's luxury property market operated more like a series of limited releases rather than an open, competitive arena. This dynamic has now fundamentally shifted. Between April and May, a total of six ultra-luxury residential projects are set to launch in the city. Some have already held their initial sales events, while others have opened showrooms and are preparing for market entry.
These six premier projects—China Overseas's Wanchao Jiuxu, C&D's Qihu Yunzhuang, Aoying Century, Binhan Chuanqi Mansion, Wangtianji, and China Overseas Haichao TOD—are collectively dubbed the "Six Golden Flowers" of Hangzhou's real estate sector. This marks the first concentrated supply cycle for top-tier luxury homes since the city lifted price caps on new properties, representing a major test of both urban purchasing power and developers' capabilities.
Hangzhou's luxury home prices are beginning to align with those in Shanghai. On April 28, Aoying Century, the first of the six to launch, announced via its official social media account a highly successful debut, claiming sales of 2.06 billion yuan in a single day. The project is located in the Qianjiang Bay Future Headquarters Base area, where JD.com recently acquired land for a regional headquarters. With an initial average price of 87,700 yuan per square meter and unit sizes of 238, 288, and 388 square meters, it strategically targets buyers in the 15 to 30 million yuan price range.
Shortly after, China Overseas's Wanchao Jiuxu obtained its pre-sale permit with an average starting price of 104,900 yuan per square meter. This project is not only the first high-rise development in Hangzhou this year to exceed the 100,000-yuan price point but also signals a new pricing era for the city's high-end housing. Its largest unit spans 413 square meters and boasts a prime location in the Binjiang area with direct river views.
This price record was quickly surpassed. On April 27, C&D's Qihu Yunzhuang received its pre-sale permit with an average price soaring to 154,000 yuan per square meter, pushing the total price for its largest unit to an astonishing 136 million yuan. The project's appeal lies in its extreme scarcity: situated next to the Xixi Wetland with a plot ratio of just 1.1, it offers units averaging 470 square meters, with fewer than 100 units available—a combination nearly impossible to replicate in Hangzhou's core areas.
In the city's traditional central Wulin business district, Binhan Chuanqi Mansion has recently opened its display area. This development adopts an extreme approach focused on ceremonial grandeur, featuring a 9.5-meter-high, 58-meter-wide main gate, a 5,000-square-meter dual clubhouse system, and an elaborate entry experience marketed as a "200-million-yuan homecoming journey." With its largest townhouse unit covering 610 square meters, the total price is also expected to surpass 100 million yuan. Prospective buyers are required to demonstrate financial capability of at least 20 million yuan just to view the properties, which start from 35 million yuan.
The remaining two projects, Wangtianji and China Overseas Haichao TOD, are targeting the market with large, flat layouts and prime location advantages, respectively. The former focuses on units over 500 square meters, with expected total prices between 35 and 70 million yuan. The latter is located in the core of Wangjiang New City, offering views of both West Lake and the Qiantang River, and plans to introduce super-large flats of up to 830 square meters, aiming to establish an unrivaled position based on location and urban resources. Prices for high-rise units are anticipated to start above 25 million yuan, with low-density homes beginning at 60 million yuan.
An industry insider who recently visited several of these projects commented that starting from 2026, Hangzhou's luxury market will no longer be defined merely as regionally high-end but is aligning with top-tier property standards seen in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The current concentration of luxury launches has its roots in the land market activity of the previous two years. Between 2024 and 2025, core areas of Hangzhou frequently saw land parcels sold at high premiums, creating a wave of record-breaking transactions. For instance, the Binjiang plot where Wanchao Jiuxu now stands was sold in late 2024 with a premium of about 60%, achieving a land cost of 44,673 yuan per square meter. The Jiangcun plot for Qihu Yunzhuang witnessed fierce competition among 14 developers in March 2025, finally selling for 88,000 yuan per square meter, setting a new record for the city at the time.
The Wangjiang New City plot for the Haichao TOD project saw even more intense competition, going through 204 rounds of bidding before state-owned China Overseas secured it for 8.078 billion yuan. Similar high-value transactions occurred in areas like Qianjiang Bay and Wulin, collectively forming a "land king" trend. These plots shared common traits: high cost, core locations, and minimal development restrictions.
As Hangzhou's price cap policy was gradually phased out by the end of 2024, developers gained the freedom to design products based on genuine market logic, unshackled from artificial price ceilings. This newfound flexibility is evident in the larger unit sizes, superior materials, and significant design investments seen in the current projects. Essentially, the ongoing luxury home battle is the market manifestation of the intense land competition from 2024-2025.
Concurrently, demand-side dynamics are also evolving. During the price-restriction era, supply of high-end homes in Hangzhou was chronically insufficient, creating pent-up demand. With the easing of purchase restrictions, attracting high-net-worth individuals from other cities has become easier, leading to a concentrated release of this suppressed demand. An internal source from a Hangzhou developer noted a noticeable increase in potential buyers from Shanghai and Wenzhou at projects like Aoying Century, reflecting this shift in the customer base.
A seasoned Hangzhou real estate agent added that the city has accumulated significant new wealth from internet entrepreneurs and other new economy sectors. These individuals are increasingly active in the luxury property market, even surpassing traditional business owners as a key purchasing force, thereby forming a solid foundation for the high-end segment.
Despite initial industry concerns about the competitive pressure from such a large, simultaneous launch of luxury projects, the actual sales performance has not shown significant cooling. A common strategy to manage supply in such situations is to release units in small batches, typically 30-40 at a time. However, the market response in Hangzhou has exceeded expectations.
For example, Aoying Century attracted over 4,000 potential buyer groups during its marketing phase, leading to an initial release of 86 units. Due to multiple interested parties for some units, a lottery system was implemented for individual apartments, resulting in nearly all units being sold on the first day. Similarly, the purely townhouse project Qihu Yunzhuang released 36 units starting from 60 million yuan each, which were also quickly allocated, with some units seeing competition from three or four buyer groups.
While all these developments are classified as luxury, a clear stratification is emerging. Products in the 20 million yuan range emphasize value and functionality; those between 30 and 60 million yuan compete on resources and design; and properties priced over 100 million yuan focus on exclusivity and status. The competitive logic is diverging across these different price segments.
The customer profile is also diversifying. Capital from Shanghai, traditional private wealth from Wenzhou and Taizhou, and high-net-worth individuals from across the country are increasingly including Hangzhou in their asset portfolios. This trend indicates that Hangzhou's luxury market is acquiring cross-regional characteristics. A key variable for the future will be the pace of supply. If a similar scale of luxury projects continues to enter the market, some differentiation pressure may emerge.