As the real estate industry's transformation enters a critical phase, construction management business, characterized by "light assets and counter-cyclical" properties, has become one of the key directions for real estate companies' transformation.
According to recent monitoring data released by CRIC Real Estate Research, in the first half of 2025, the top 20 enterprises in new construction management scale added a total of 109.83 million square meters in newly signed construction area, representing a 28% year-on-year increase. This data reflects the new logic of real estate industry transformation: as land dividends fade and high-leverage models fail, "monetizing professional capabilities" is replacing "capital scale expansion" as the "breakthrough weapon" for real estate companies to reconstruct their value chains.
In this race to expand construction management business, making it into the first tier is not easy. Leading enterprise GREENTOWN MGMT has been deeply cultivating this field for more than ten years and has long been listed as a standout performer. Construction management companies such as Longfor's Longfor Intelligence and Gemdale's Gemdale Management have also been deeply involved for many years.
However, newcomer SINO-OCEAN GP's construction management brand, SINO-OCEAN Construction Management, has already carved out a new light-asset business path. According to the "2025 First Half China Real Estate Construction Management Enterprise Ranking" recently released by China Index Academy, in the first half of this year, SINO-OCEAN Construction Management expanded into 5.62 million square meters of new area, ranking eighth in the industry.
"Construction management business has become an important development direction for SINO-OCEAN GP," Zhao Jianjun, Vice President of SINO-OCEAN GP, recently told reporters. Unlike other real estate companies that split their construction management business for independent operation, SINO-OCEAN GP adopts a fully integrated development model for construction management business, aiming to excel in both heavy-asset development operations and accelerate the expansion of construction management business. In terms of development strategy, construction management business has received greater attention.
**Revitalizing Distressed Assets to Increase Construction Management Fees**
From the competitive landscape of the construction management industry in the first half of this year, the concentration of newly signed contracts among leading enterprises has declined, while middle and lower-tier enterprises have accelerated project expansion, with construction management fees continuing to compress. According to China Index Academy's statistics on typical construction management enterprise projects, over 50% of construction management projects have management fee rates between 1% and 2%, with some reaching 3%, while construction management fee rates could reach as high as 5% in the past.
Under this competitive landscape, SINO-OCEAN Construction Management has taken a unique approach, pursuing differentiated competition through diversified business, revitalizing distressed assets, and urban renewal tracks, which have become important tools for honing construction management capabilities and increasing fee rates.
"Fee differences are significant for different types of projects. For example, projects involving complex distressed asset disposal tend to have relatively higher fee rates," Zhao Jianjun revealed. Revitalizing distressed assets is a promising track with broad development prospects.
From existing operational cases, the Haiyan Duhui Huating project in East China demonstrates SINO-OCEAN Construction Management's ability to handle complex problems. Facing over 70 debt disputes and stalled construction, the company team achieved timely delivery through debt restructuring, cost optimization, and marketing transformation, while making the project rank among the top three in local sales.
Regarding the cooperation model for revitalizing distressed assets, SINO-OCEAN GP management stated that the company has established deep cooperation with some Asset Management Companies (AMCs): AMCs acquire quality debt assets that financial institutions are eager to dispose of at 40-50% of market price, then SINO-OCEAN GP takes charge of subsequent operations and management, enhancing product value through professional management to achieve asset appreciation and investment returns. This cooperation fully leverages AMCs' capital advantages and SINO-OCEAN GP's operational expertise, forming a value enhancement closed loop of "low-price acquisition + professional operation."
As of now, residential projects account for approximately 70% of SINO-OCEAN GP's construction management business, while also covering diversified formats such as urban renewal and industrial parks. Although this year's sales performance and construction management income are still modest compared to heavy-asset business, management places greater emphasis on establishing a sustainable professional service model.
**Achieving Differentiated Breakthrough Through Three Paths**
Of course, to achieve sustained development, the most fundamental requirement is to continuously secure business and form differentiated competitive advantages, thereby breaking the industry's internal competition model and helping SINO-OCEAN GP build strong teams for renewal. Zhao Jianjun stated that after a period of exploration, SINO-OCEAN GP has formed three paths.
First is establishing "base areas." Under the previous heavy-asset development model, SINO-OCEAN GP entered nearly fifty cities nationwide, while construction management "base areas" are selected in no more than twenty cities. By analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of these cities, identifying main construction management types, clarifying business focus areas, and then finding breakthrough points, the reduced management radius helps concentrate efforts.
Second is filling gaps through "guerrilla warfare." SINO-OCEAN GP is not among the first-tier members who entered the construction management industry earliest, making it difficult to match the scale of pioneers. However, what can be done is seeking "vacuums" in other platforms' businesses - such as projects they failed to cooperate on, business types they haven't entered, or business models they lack experience in. By penetrating from subtle points, markets are gradually opened through give-and-take dynamics.
Third is concentrating forces for "annihilation warfare." After frontline teams capture project information, they quickly provide feedback, with group-level teams organized to "diagnose" projects, concentrating efforts to provide precise diagnosis and solutions for clients. This also relies on enhanced organizational agility and operational efficiency after "streamlining."
"We position ourselves as project doctors," Zhao Jianjun describes SINO-OCEAN's construction management philosophy. Especially for complex comprehensive projects like urban renewal, "diagnosis" is crucial.
Zhao Jianjun candidly stated that urban renewal projects follow two paths: first, "dressing up" comprehensive renovation; second, demolition and reconstruction. SINO-OCEAN GP, with mature urban renewal experience from projects like Chengdu Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li and two Joy Breeze developments along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, has found sustainable opportunities in this track. For example, SINO-OCEAN Construction Management successfully bid for the Jinan Hotel plot urban renewal project, preserving old buildings while focusing new areas on high-end commerce, achieving harmonious unity between "new" and "old" to create a commercial port culture showcase.
According to SINO-OCEAN GP management, mainstream business models for construction management urban renewal projects fall into two categories: one where property owners collectively fund while SINO-OCEAN GP provides professional and brand capabilities in construction and operations, earning construction management fees and sharing value-added returns; another where SINO-OCEAN GP seeks partners who fund the establishment of funds, with SINO-OCEAN GP responsible for construction management operations to advance urban renewal or new project development.
Regarding future construction management business development plans, Zhao Jianjun stated frankly that gradual annual growth is sufficient, without setting unrealistic targets. Doing every small thing to perfection, succeeding in each endeavor - this is fundamental. The real estate sector still has new markets and demands, with many complex projects requiring construction management parties for activation. As long as methods are correct and execution is good, a different development path can certainly be achieved.
Liu Shui, Enterprise Research Director at China Index Academy, told reporters that as the real estate market enters a stock stage, incremental construction scale is limited. The transformation from developers to service providers is an inevitable trend for real estate companies, with construction management being an important field in light-asset business, crucial for real estate companies' transformation and development. In the future, real estate construction management enterprises must pay greater attention to brand reputation, not compete based on scale speed, firmly pursue long-termism, and chart a new construction management path suitable for their own development.