The once-celebrated "second growth curve" of property management value-added services is now facing a harsh reality check. A review of interim results for 2026 from Hong Kong-listed property management companies reveals that value-added services have moved away from the industry-wide growth seen in prior years, with divergence across the sector intensifying. Some firms have regained double-digit growth in community value-added businesses, while many others are actively contracting their business lines, and a few have managed to stabilize or even boost profitability despite declining revenue. Below, we examine the revenue share and growth changes in value-added services among listed property firms, based on half-year data from several representative companies.
Growth divergence
Community value-added services are the most detailed section in interim reports and offer the clearest picture of industry warming and cooling trends. Among leading firms, Country Garden Services posted standout results in this segment. During the first half, community value-added revenue reached approximately RMB 2.308 billion, up 18.3% year-on-year, accounting for 9.4% of total revenue. Breaking it down, local life services revenue was RMB 1.664 billion, up 28.9% year-on-year, while community retail, new energy charging piles, and liquor businesses grew by 46%, 48%, and 32%, respectively. This growth stems from the company's gradual reduction of reliance on related-party developer business, shifting focus toward market-oriented services for existing homeowners.
A-Living Services and C&D Property Management maintained steady growth. A-Living saw community value-added revenue rise 9.7% year-on-year in the first half, with segment gross margin at 32.8%, up 4.5 percentage points, following the proactive exit from 89 low-margin, low-collection projects. C&D Property Management sustained roughly 9% year-on-year growth in community value-added business, with home services, housing renovation, and community retail contributing consistently to revenue. Redco Properties' property management arm, though smaller in scale, generated RMB 91.28 million in community value-added revenue, up 15% year-on-year, lifting its revenue share by 2.2 percentage points to 17.7%, with gross margin at 30.2%.
Meanwhile, numerous firms have opted to shrink and adjust. Poly Property Services saw community value-added revenue fall to approximately RMB 1.03 billion, down 14.4% year-on-year. Seazen Smart Life reported community value-added revenue of RMB 375 million, sliding 24.2% year-on-year, with the company explicitly reducing community retail and facility operations while cutting parking space sales revenue. Greentown Service Group recorded park services revenue of RMB 1.27 billion, down 6.7% year-on-year, while Onewo also faced pressure, with community value-added revenue dipping slightly. Even Shimao Services, which maintained positive growth, saw community value-added revenue of RMB 551 million, up just 2.2% year-on-year, reflecting weak growth momentum.
Declining revenue share
Looking at the broader industry perspective, the share of value-added services in total revenue for property firms has retreated overall compared to the sector's peak period. According to the "2026 China Property Management Top 100 Enterprises Research Report" from the China Index Academy, basic property management services revenue among top 100 firms rose to 85.15% of total, while value-added services accounted for 12.61%, down 1.23 percentage points year-on-year. The decline stems primarily from sustained contraction in non-owner value-added services, compounded by strategic adjustments across firms in community value-added businesses. In short, after a round of business reshuffling, basic property management services have regained their position as the core revenue base for property firms.
Listed company data corroborates this trend. Poly Property Services posted basic property management revenue of RMB 7.08 billion in the first half, up 11.9% year-on-year, while the combined share of community and non-owner value-added services dropped from 24.6% to 19.8% compared to the same period last year. Country Garden Services saw community value-added account for 9.4% of total revenue, with non-owner value-added revenue at RMB 234 million, down 20.2% year-on-year, reducing its share to around 1% of total revenue. The company noted during its earnings call that related-party revenue now accounts for less than 1%.
The contraction in non-owner value-added services is a common industry phenomenon. Onewo reported developer value-added services revenue of RMB 177 million, down 19.3% year-on-year. China Overseas Property saw non-owner value-added revenue of approximately RMB 730 million, falling 14.6% year-on-year. Shimao Services recorded non-owner value-added revenue of just RMB 31.3 million, plunging 48.9% year-on-year, with revenue share below 1%. China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings' property arm, China Merchants Property Operation & Service, reported platform value-added services revenue of RMB 165 million, down 27.33% year-on-year. Greentown Service has also been compressing developer ancillary businesses, reducing dependence on its parent company's property development segment. The non-owner value-added services that once relied on site services, tail-end sales, and pre-sale consulting are seeing growth space narrow further as the new home market cools.
Prioritizing profitability
After this round of adjustments, the approach to value-added services among property firms has shifted: the goal is no longer revenue scale alone, but profitability quality as the core performance metric. Poly Property Services serves as a typical example. Although community value-added revenue fell 14.4% year-on-year, segment gross margin surged 6.85 percentage points to 46.78%, making it the most profitable among the company's three major business segments. In its interim report, the firm explained that the key was streamlining business categories, optimizing product mix, and proactively cutting projects that looked revenue-generative but were not actually profitable.
A-Living Services follows a similar playbook. After exiting inefficient projects, community value-added gross margin rose to 32.8%, while Hongyang Services held community value-added gross margin steady at 30.2%. However, profitability improvements are not an industry-wide phenomenon. Shimao Services saw community value-added gross margin drop from 21.6% to 15.9% year-on-year, with basic property gross margin also declining, and the company remained in a loss position during the period. China Merchants Property reported professional value-added services gross margin falling from 9.53% to 7.30%, while China Overseas Property's overall gross margin declined 2 percentage points year-on-year to 14.9%. Greentown Service's park value-added gross margin edged lower, and Onewo's community value-added business retains a decent profitability base but lacks growth momentum. Clearly, sustaining profitability in community value-added services hinges on streamlining supply chains and boosting homeowner repurchase rates, rather than blindly expanding categories and businesses.
Overall, the landscape for value-added services among listed property firms in the first half of 2026 is now clear. Divergence in the community value-added track is intensifying, with high-growth firms largely concentrated in daily essentials scenarios for homeowners. Non-owner value-added services are still in a clearing phase, making a near-term rebound unlikely. Industry expectations for value-added services have shifted from the once-heralded "second growth curve" concept to a more grounded assessment of whether these services can consistently generate profits.
Driving innovation through operations, empowering the future! The PMIF Property Management Innovation Forum is set to open in Shenzhen. With the property industry facing a zero-sum game in the existing market, finding new growth tracks has become urgent. This forum will bring together multiple industry leaders to dissect implementation practices for community value-added services across dimensions including asset management, property-based eldercare, community retail, and car life services, alongside roundtable discussions on opportunities and pain points in diversified property operations.