Lianjia vs Zillow: How Real Estate Works in China
Lianjia is China's largest real estate platform with 12K+ stores. Compare Lianjia with Zillow, Beike (KE Holdings), and understand China's property market.
TL;DR
Key Insights
Lianjia Scale
Lianjia operates over 12,000 physical stores across 100+ Chinese cities with 150,000+ agents. Its parent KE Holdings generated approximately 80 billion yuan in revenue in FY2024. KE Holdings is listed on NYSE (BEKE) and HKSE. The company controls approximately 30 percent of China's residential transaction market.
Lianjia vs Zillow
Lianjia is a full-service brokerage with physical stores and agents, while Zillow is a digital listing platform. Lianjia agents personally guide clients through viewings, negotiations, and paperwork. Zillow provides data but no personal representation. China's market favors full-service brokerages due to complex transaction processes.
Beike Platform Model
KE Holdings launched Beike as an open platform allowing independent brokerages to list on the same platform as Lianjia. This created a unified MLS-like system for China's fragmented real estate market. Beike's ACN (Agent Cooperation Network) splits commissions among cooperating agents, incentivizing sharing.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lianjia/Beike | Zillow | Redfin | Fang.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Full-service brokerage + platform | Listing platform + data | Discount brokerage | Listing platform |
| Physical Stores | 12,000+ | None | Limited | None |
| Agents | 150,000+ | Referral network | 2,000+ | None |
| Annual Transactions | 2T+ yuan | ~$2.5T (US market) | ~$100B | N/A |
| Commission Rate | 1-3% | Advertising fees | 1-1.5% | Advertising fees |
| Home Search | App + in-store | App + web | App + web | Web |
| Market Focus | China | United States | United States | China |
| Additional Services | Rental, renovation, mortgage | Mortgage, rentals | Mortgage, title | New home sales |
Frequently Asked Questions
Lianjia (贝壳找房 parent) is China's largest real estate brokerage chain with over 12,000 stores and 150,000 agents. Founded in 2001, it processes over 2 trillion yuan in annual transactions. Its parent company KE Holdings (Beike) is listed on NYSE (BEKE) with approximately 15 billion USD market cap.
Lianjia is primarily a brokerage (it has agents who represent buyers and sellers), while Zillow is mainly an information and listing platform. Lianjia operates physical stores; Zillow is online-only. Lianjia earns commissions on transactions (1-3 percent); Zillow earns from advertising and Premier Agent referrals.
China's property market differs significantly from Western markets. Property ownership is leasehold (70 years for residential). Most transactions involve new developments from state-owned developers. Prices are per square meter. Down payments are typically 30-70 percent. Lianjia/Beike dominates the secondary market while developers sell new homes directly.
Beike (贝壳找房) is the platform and parent company of Lianjia. It operates an open platform allowing independent brokerages to list properties alongside Lianjia's own agents. Beike went public on NYSE in 2020 and has expanded into home renovation, rental, and mortgage services.