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Author: Lei Dongdun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: This book discusses "house slaves," exploring the real estate industry as a pillar of the national economy, the buyers as the main economic entities in the market economy, and even the complex psychology, diverse traditions, and varied personalities of individuals. What to do? What about the "house slaves"? Some say the Chinese were "fooled" by the American grandmother; some say the Chinese, traditionally ashamed of living beyond their means, have learned to "use tomorrow's money to fulfill today's dreams"; and some even say the emergence of "house slaves" is a result of high housing prices. We say, in the current period of China's transformation, the emergence of "house slaves" is inevitable. This book discusses "house slaves," exploring the real estate industry as a pillar of the national economy, the buyers as the main economic entities in the market economy, and even the complex psychology, diverse traditions, and varied personalities of individuals.
(V) It's no longer enough to just talk about the bleeding housing prices; one must go to the actual scene to see. Starting from the National Day holiday in 2005, I finally experienced how ignorant and helpless consumers are in today's market economy, facing a false boom in the seller's market. Because my home is near the Fourth Ring Road and Badaling Expressway, I decided to buy a house for my parents and targeted the areas along the expressway to the north. My wife had something to take care of, so I went to Shuimu Tiancheng alone. Haha, the place was crowded with people, and I first saw the indifferent faces of the sales girls. If you go back a year or more, or even earlier, to the sales office to buy a house, you would always see the faces of the young and beautiful sales girls smiling like the spring. The higher-end the project, the brighter their smiles and the more their figures. I once heard an unverified rumor that if you wanted to find a rich husband or mistress, you could become a sales girl. Of course, that was just a joke. The world has changed.
I was carefully inspecting the projects—some were noisy due to the nearby expressway, some were slightly skewed, while the ones facing the Qing River had beautiful views, larger layouts, and had not yet been launched, with prices rumored to be expensive. While lamenting the high prices, I shamelessly asked the cold sales girl, "Can you leave your contact information for us? When the projects in good locations open, please give me a call to let me know." Unexpectedly, the sales girl didn't even raise her head: "We never leave client phone numbers; you can come see for yourself when the time comes." A great humiliation. I almost cursed, "I'm not buying this, and I won't take the money that's being offered for free. I don't want to spend money on their cold stares."
Continuing east along the river, I arrived at Guan Aoyuan, only to find the gate closed and a notice hanging on the door announcing a three-day holiday. It seemed the houses were selling well, with those selling houses during the Golden Week taking a vacation. Interesting. Later, I learned that this project was divided into northern and southern districts, with two sales offices. The other sales office was open even during the holiday. That's a later story.
For the same project, I had a deep impression. Later, one day in October 2005, my colleague and I happened to visit this project. The sales girl at the first sales office was indifferent, giving a brief introduction. I insisted on seeing the site, and she told me the building number and asked me to go see for myself. The price was 6,000 yuan per square meter. My colleague's eyes widened, wondering why the sales girl wasn't accompanying us. I comforted him, saying it was like this. Later, we went to the other sales office, where a young man greeted us warmly, but the houses hadn't yet been launched. I asked to leave my contact information, and he promised to notify me. I felt confident again and was happy as a clam. It seemed there were still some good salespeople who were very enthusiastic.
In February 2006, I returned to Guan Aoyuan, and the slab buildings with very small distances between them had already been built, except for the last one. When I reached that house, I found at least three groups of people discussing how bad the layout of the last house was and how expensive it was. I fled in a hurry.
In the following days, I went to Hui Longguan. I visited the famous Meteor Garden, where the first floor had a garden, but the narrow distance between buildings made me feel suffocated. The price was around 4,500 yuan. I hesitated—the price was high, and the location was far. Back then, when the first affordable housing projects were being built, I could pick and choose for just over 2,000 yuan. The sales manager didn't move