Executive Summary
China’s Tier I cities are fast tracking to real estate market maturity.
Over the past decade Shanghai and Beijing have gone through a remarkable transformation. Our
analysis of 22 key cities around the globe highlights the rapid rise of both cities up the maturity
curve. In 2000, they sat firmly in our ‘emerging’ or Gamma category, ranking 14th and 15th
respectively. Today, they hold 10th and 11th positions and are classified as ‘transitional’ or Beta
markets, having leapfrogged and widened their distance over other key BRIC cities.
China’s ascent up the real estate market maturity curve owes much to its unique combination of
massive infrastructure investment, highly effective government policies, long-term planning,
impressive speed of real estate delivery and a vibrant domestic economy. These attributes will
continue to shape China’s real estate market, creating a unique model that will be closely
watched by many emerging markets across the globe