China: cities for foreign buyers, from Shanghai and Beijing to Shenzhen and Hainan

This is a guide to where a foreigner might look in mainland China, not a list of the best places. The site has no China listings, so nothing here is an offer. It is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice, and the rules vary by city and change often. Most of what follows comes from news summaries and commercial guides, and we say where we could not confirm a point.

Before choosing a city: can you buy at all?

The national baseline, as described by a Chongqing government page in June 2026 and by commercial guides, is narrow. A foreign individual who has worked or studied in China for more than one year may buy one residential unit for own use or residence. Someone with less than a year of work or study may not buy. Guides add that the home should be in the city of your residence permit and work, and that you cannot rent it out commercially. The same sources say the September 2025 foreign-exchange reform eased the payment process while eligibility stayed essentially the same. We could not read the underlying circular, so confirm the current text with a Chinese lawyer. The wider picture is in where foreigners cannot own land and what they can hold instead and in our China buying guide.

On top of that come local curbs on non-local buyers, and these are where the cities differ.

How the big cities have eased their curbs

• Beijing: reports describe the required period of tax or social-security records for non-Beijing buyers being cut from two years to one, with coverage in December 2025 and August 2026. Sources differ on the exact scope and date, and limits inside the Fifth Ring Road were reported as still in place at one point.
• Shanghai: a policy announced on 25 February 2026 lowered the threshold for buyers without a local registration, and in 2025 non-locals with one year of tax or social-security payments were reported able to buy without a count limit beyond the Outer Ring Road.
• Shenzhen: a government page says non-hukou buyers may buy in non-core areas without tax or social-insurance certificates. It does not cover the core districts and its date is unclear.
• Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu: eligibility checks and unit caps were reported scrapped or relaxed in 2024. We found no 2025 or 2026 confirmation, so treat it as reported in 2024 and check today's rules.
• Hainan: see the separate section below. The island is the exception.

What the 2026 price data shows, and what it does not

China's statistics bureau publishes price indices, not average prices per square metre, and we did not find a reliable yuan-per-m2 figure for any city. For levels, use the bureau's 70-city release (stats.gov.cn, the latest we saw was dated 15 September 2026 for August) and a current listing platform. What the indices show, as reported:

• August 2026: the 70-city average new-home price fell about 0.17% on the month, described by one tracker as the 39th consecutive monthly decline. Fifteen cities rose, including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Shanghai new homes were up 3.0% year on year; Beijing was down 2.3%.
• July 2026: Shanghai +0.2%, Guangzhou +0.1%, Shenzhen +0.2%, Beijing -0.3% on the month.
• June 2026, year on year: the 70-city average was down 3.3%; Beijing -2.1%, Guangzhou -2.6%, Shenzhen -3.6%, Shanghai up 3.1%.

The market is therefore uneven, with Shanghai the standout and most others still falling. An index of new homes does not tell you the price of a resale flat, which we could not find. For developer and market risks, see China property market 2026: prices, yield and developer risks.

City by city

Shanghai suits a buyer who already lives and works there and wants a large, international city. Its new-home index is the strongest of the big four. Rents in the top cities were reported to have risen for six months in a row. Drawbacks: the strongest market is also the most expensive and, as for any city, you must qualify as a foreign buyer first.

Beijing: city-reported 2025 air quality was the best on record, with an annual average PM2.5 of 27.0 micrograms per cubic metre and 311 days of good or excellent air. The new-home index was down 2.3% on the year in August 2026. Drawbacks: curbs inside the Fifth Ring Road have been the strictest and the details have moved.

Shenzhen is a technology and business city. Its new-home index was down 3.6% on the year in June 2026 but up 0.2% on the month in July. Rules for non-hukou buyers are looser outside the core districts, and the foreigner condition still applies.

Guangzhou is the third of the big first-tier markets and was reported to have relaxed its curbs in 2024. Its new-home index was down 2.6% on the year in June 2026. We found no reliable rent data apart from a general range.

Hangzhou and Chengdu were among the cities that dropped eligibility checks in 2024, as reported. We found no 2026 index or rent data for either, so we say nothing about their prices.

Hainan (Sanya, Haikou) is the resort island. Its strict regime dates from 2018: non-locals needed more than 24 months of tax and social-insurance records, more than 60 months in Haikou, Sanya and Qionghai, were barred in the central mountains, faced a 70% minimum down payment and a five-year resale ban on homes bought after 30 March 2018. A later partial easing for returnees and staff of recognised headquarters is reported without a date. We found no confirmation of a 2026 removal of the curbs, and the current position is unknown, so assume the island is the hardest place for an outsider to buy until a lawyer confirms otherwise.

Rents, air and schools in plain terms

Rent figures disagree. One 2026 guide gives central one-bedrooms at roughly 7,000 to 12,000 yuan a month in Shanghai, 6,500 to 11,000 in Beijing and 6,000 to 10,500 in Shenzhen; another, from March 2026, gives 4,000 to 7,000 yuan for a one-bedroom across Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Treat both as a spread, not an average, and check live listings. We found no rent data for Hangzhou, Chengdu or Hainan.

On air, the national average PM2.5 was reported at 28 micrograms per cubic metre in 2025, and the ministry said the 29 largest-economy cities averaged 27.8. A tighter standard took effect on 1 March 2026. We found no 2025 figures for Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu or Hainan, so check each city's own report.

International schools and expat communities exist in the large cities, but we did not research them: ask the schools for fees and places before you decide where to live. For visas and the right to stay, read China visas, residence permits and permanent residence for foreigners, and for monthly budgets the cost of living in China.

Common mistakes

• Choosing a city before checking that you qualify as a foreign buyer.
• Relying on a rule you read in 2024 or 2025: local curbs have changed in both directions.
• Reading an index move as a price level.
• Assuming Hainan works like the big cities.
• Skipping checks on the developer and the title. See due diligence and scams for foreign buyers in China and property scams abroad.

FAQ

Can I buy in Shanghai without living there? Reported rules point to one unit for own use, usually where you hold a residence permit and work, after more than a year of work or study. Confirm with a local lawyer.

Which city is cheapest? We did not find comparable price levels, so we do not say. The indices show direction, not level.

Is Hong Kong the same? No. It has its own rules; see Hong Kong property for foreign buyers and the China and Hong Kong hub.

What this means for a normal buyer

• First check whether you qualify, then pick a city.
• Treat any rule older than a year as possibly out of date, and ask a Chinese lawyer for the current local text.
• Use index data for direction and live listings for level.
• Hainan needs separate confirmation before you assume you can buy.
• Take the developer, title and payment route seriously before the city.

If you want a second opinion on a shortlist, an independent buyer-side adviser can compare options and bring in a local lawyer; D.H. Realting works from Warsaw as an independent consultant.