Recently, a video titled “Northeast China House Price 153 RMB/square meter” on a mainland social media platform has sparked widespread attention and discussions, with over 100,000 reposts and becoming a hot trending topic. A local property agent claimed that this is a rare occurrence, but public information shows that there are indeed properties in Hengshan District of Jixi City priced under 100,000 RMB in total, with per square meter prices only in the hundreds.
The video blogger visited Hengshan District in Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province, and found a second-hand house with a listed total price of 12,000 RMB for 65 square meters, and the seller was willing to accept a 2,000 RMB discount, making the deal possible at 10,000 RMB.
From the video content, it can be seen that the mentioned property is located on the top floor of a 6-story building in a small residential complex, with a relatively clean interior environment, a small square for leisure activities, fitness equipment, and a nearby hospital.
Upon walking up to the 6th floor, it was observed that each floor had three units, the house interior was painted, partly tiled, fully equipped with heating, water, toilet, sink, etc., in a layout of one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom, with good light and windows in the living room displaying “For Sale” signs.
According to the homeowner in the video, the minimum total price for the house is 10,000 RMB, with an area of 65 square meters, equivalent to a price of around 153 RMB per square meter.
Jixi City is located in the southeast of Heilongjiang Province, and public data shows that it, along with Hegang, Shuangyashan, belongs to the underdeveloped cities in Northeast China.
Following the release of the video, it immediately drew widespread attention and reposts, with netizens commenting and discussing the situation.
sven_shi: The biggest problem in these areas is the lack of transactions. Houses are often a family’s most significant asset, losing its transaction value means the assets of the household are close to zero.
财入门: In terms of square meters, it’s already meaningless, many small cities with few people operate based on units, with prices of just tens of thousands. Because many houses are in an abandoned state, in a small complex with few households, even with a 10% occupancy rate, you can live there just by paying property fees. Not just in the northeast, there are many such situations in small coastal cities in Shandong.
千江朗月: Buy a flat with the price of an iPhone.
天晴要下雨了: Need to pay property fees and heating costs every year, this is like holding a hot potato, buying it without living in it is useless, and it’s even hard to rent out.
我就是大象: With the arrival of aging population, young people are getting fewer, the population is gradually concentrating in first and second-tier cities, the present situation of the northeast is going to be the future of many third and fourth-tier cities.
亦心汐: I’ll consider buying when it’s just a few hundred RMB per square meter.
Weibo member MJ_Carson from Shanghai: Three years ago, when I visited my hometown, a top-floor unit on a six-story building with 53 square meters was already sold for 5,000 RMB, 153 RMB per square meter sounds expensive.
According to a report by “Daily Economic News,” on October 11, a local property agent in Jixi City mentioned over the phone that this is a rare occurrence, primarily influenced by the location of the community and the specific financial needs of individual landlords.
Jixi City got its name from being situated at the western foot of the Jiguan Mountains, and as of the end of 2023, it had a registered population of 1.6096 million.
Checking platforms like Anjuke, Fangtianxia, 58.com, it’s confirmed that there are indeed properties with total prices below 100,000 RMB and per square meter prices only in the hundreds in Hengshan District of Jixi City.
Anjuke shows that the lowest-priced property in Hengshan District is located in Xiaohengshan Community, with a landlord listing a 65.25 square meter property with 2 rooms, 1 living room, 1 bathroom, on the 5th floor facing north, simply decorated. It’s a regular residential unit without an elevator, priced at 42,000 RMB, which translates to 644 RMB per square meter.
The lowest listed property on Fangtianxia is a bare-shell house in Lizhu District, Hengtai Family Garden, with a built area of 55.23 square meters, a total price of 35,800 RMB, equivalent to 648 RMB per square meter.
On the 58.com platform, the second-hand house listings in Jixi City are similar to those on the aforementioned platforms, with lower prices generally ranging between 600 RMB and 900 RMB per square meter.
“These types of properties are mostly in communities far from the central areas or near mining areas,” said the head of a property agency store in the central street of Hengshan District, Jixi City. Some owners in old communities are eager to sell, as they no longer reside there, and are offering prices of 10,000 to 20,000 RMB to sell.
The Chinese real estate market is in a period of deep decline, especially in the Northeast region. The residential price index of 70 major cities announced by the National Bureau of Statistics in August showed that, in terms of new property prices, Mudanjiang, Jinzhou, and Changchun saw a 0.2% decrease; Dalian dropped by 0.3%; Harbin and Dandong both decreased by 0.4%.
Regarding second-hand house prices, Jilin, Shenyang, and Harbin in the Northeast region saw a 0.4% decrease; Jinzhou had a significant year-on-year drop of 6.7%.
In recent years, Hegang City in Heilongjiang Province has seen numerous houses priced like “cabbage.” With the slowdown of the Chinese economy, rising unemployment, people’s savings shrinking, the ability to buy homes and support families is increasingly weakening. The continuous decline in the real estate industry is leading to a general decrease in housing prices. People have noticed that many places in the three northeastern provinces have cities where housing prices are as cheap as cabbage, and housing prices in many parts of the country are trending towards a “Hegang-like” direction.
Chinese financial media previously reported that cities with “Hegang-like” housing prices are spread across 25 provinces nationwide, and even the economically prosperous regions like Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei), the Pearl River Delta, and Chengdu-Chongqing are encircled by such cities.