Real estate agents in China are searching for new options

Before the property crisis, being a real estate agent in China was a reliable path to a good income. Transaction volumes were high, commissions were predictable, and the market only ever seemed to go in one direction. That world is gone. The agents who are thriving in 2025 and 2026 are the ones who adapted early and adapted completely.

An Industry Under Pressure

At its peak, China had roughly 3 million registered real estate agents. That number has contracted sharply since 2021. Transaction volumes in new homes fell by over 30% between 2021 and 2024. Many agents left the industry entirely. Those who stayed found themselves competing for a much smaller pool of active buyers in the domestic market.

Beike, the operator behind the Lianjia agency brand and one of China’s dominant real estate platforms, cut agent headcount significantly after 2021. At the same time, it invested heavily in digital tools: virtual tours, AI-assisted pricing, and a dedicated overseas sales desk. Beike’s pivot signals where the company sees future volume, and overseas real estate is a major part of that bet.

The Pivot to Overseas Sales

Thousands of Chinese agents have moved into overseas property sales since 2022. The destinations are consistent: Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, and the UAE account for the majority of transactions. These markets combine accessible price points, relatively straightforward foreign ownership rules, and strong existing Chinese buyer networks.

The skill gap is real. An agent who spent a decade selling apartments in Shenzhen does not automatically know how to explain a leasehold structure in Bangkok, walk a client through a SWIFT transfer, or describe the tax implications of owning property in Japan as a non-resident. The agents who invested in building this knowledge are earning 2 to 3 times more than their domestic-only peers. The knowledge is the product.

Other agents moved into rental management as an alternative. As fewer Chinese families buy homes domestically, demand for professional rental management in Tier 1 cities has grown. Some agents turned property managers overnight, trading transaction commissions for recurring management fees. It is a more stable income base in a volatile transaction market. For a detailed look at how Douyin has become the main tool for this kind of agent work, read our piece on Douyin as a Key Tool in Real Estate Marketing in China.

Douyin Is Changing Real Estate Marketing in China

The most visible change in how Chinese agents work is the move to Douyin. The hashtag #房产 (real estate) has over 30 billion views on the platform. #海外房产 (overseas property) has passed 3 billion views. These numbers reflect a real shift: buyers research property on short video platforms before they ever call an agent.

The cost of entry on Douyin is essentially zero. Any agent with a phone can start filming walkthroughs, market commentary, or Q&A sessions. The top real estate accounts on Douyin now have 2 to 5 million followers. Agents at that scale are running their own media operations. They produce daily content, host weekly live streams, and generate leads directly without going through a traditional agency network. There are over 50,000 weekly live streaming sessions for real estate on Douyin each week.

The economics work strongly in favor of individual agents who embrace this model. Cost per lead via Douyin runs between 200 and 500 RMB. Via WeChat Moments, the equivalent runs 800 to 1,500 RMB. Total real estate ad spend on Douyin in 2025 reached 12 billion RMB. Weekly live streams from properties generate 3 to 5 times more leads than property fairs. Agents who understand this are redirecting their marketing budgets accordingly. For developers and agencies wanting to understand how WeChat complements this, see our full guide to WeChat for Real Estate.

What the New Agent Looks Like

The successful Chinese real estate agent in 2025 is not the traditional sales professional sitting in a glass-fronted office waiting for walk-ins. They are content creators, market analysts, and cross-border finance specialists rolled into one. They film a walkthrough in Osaka on Tuesday, run a live Q&A on Douyin Wednesday evening, field WeChat inquiries Thursday morning, and arrange a SWIFT transfer briefing call Friday afternoon.

This new type of agent is also better informed about the psychology of their clients. The Chinese buyers they serve have lived through the Evergrande collapse. They have seen family members stuck paying mortgages on unbuilt apartments. They are not going to sign a contract based on a glossy brochure. Agents who acknowledge this directly, who open their client conversations with “I know you are nervous after what happened in China, let me show you why this is different,” close at much higher rates than agents who pretend the crisis never happened.

Who Is the Chinese Real Estate Buyer in 2026?

Agents who understand their client types close more deals. Three profiles dominate the current overseas buyer pool. The Yield Hunter (收益猎人) is 35 to 50 years old, wants 5% or more net yield, and targets Thailand, the UAE, and Japan. The Family Insurer (家庭保险官) is 40 to 60, prioritizes school access and residency visas, and looks at the UK, Japan, and Canada. The New Wealth Entrepreneur (新财富企业家) is 30 to 45, often a tech or e-commerce founder, wants USD assets to diversify away from RMB exposure.

For the full breakdown of each profile with investment levels and destination data, see our guide: Chinese Investors in Real Estate 2026: Where the Money Is Going.

Chinese Data Sources

贝壳研究院 Beike Research (bj.ke.com) publishes quarterly data on agent employment and activity across China. Their reports show the domestic agent contraction clearly: fewer active agents, lower transaction volumes, reduced commissions. They also track the growth of overseas sales desks at major agencies since 2022, giving a data-grounded picture of where agent activity is shifting.

新浪房产 Sina Real Estate (finance.sina.com.cn/real_estate) has published profiles of Chinese agents who have moved into Douyin and overseas property sales. Their reporting includes earnings comparisons between domestic-focused and overseas-focused agents, showing the income gap that has opened between those who adapted and those who stayed in the contracting domestic market.

How CTA Helps

CTA works with developers, brokers, and investment funds who want to reach Chinese buyers. We run Douyin campaigns for overseas properties, manage WeChat channels that give buyers the information depth they need, and organize viewing trips from China for serious prospects.

Marcus Zhan leads our real estate Douyin practice. His team has worked with projects across Thailand, Japan, the UAE, and Europe, building campaigns specifically for the trust-sensitive Chinese buyer who needs evidence before they commit.

Visit our advertising agency in China page or check our services to see how we can support your sales targets in the Chinese market.