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In Yanjiao, house prices have been falling continuously, and the new owners and investors from all over the country are even carrying “negative assets”. “After all, there are only a few people who have cut their losses, and more people have to carry them. Some people say, “The next step in Life planning has been completely disrupted, so we can only drag it backwards and wait.”
The “news” flowed in Yanjiao’s large and small WeChat groups, and Xu Tian, a homeowner in his early 30s, also saw it, first in Tianyang City, where a homebuyer wanted to “give away” his 40 square meter apartment purchased in 2016 because of mortgage pressure and “increasing losses The first was Tian Yang City, where a buyer wanted to “give away” the 40 square meter apartment he bought in 2016 as long as the other party continued to pay off the remaining loan of more than 700,000.
It didn’t take long for another homeowner from Sweet City Boulevard in Seoul to appear in the video, wearing a black baseball cap and saying to the camera, “I’m so stressed about paying off my mortgage that the house wants to give it away for free, just so long as you pay off the final payment for me.” That 123 square meter three-bedroom house still had more than 2.3 million in the final payment.
These messages were forwarded around on social media with the headline “Yanjiao homeowners give away their houses for free”. Everyone complained in the group, “This is just hype, what free gift, selling in disguise.”
The two sets of houses bought at the high point of the market, which were as high as 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per square meter, have experienced the continuous decline of Yanjiao’s house prices over the past four to five years, and are now less than 20,000 yuan. This means that the total amount of the remaining loan and the market price of the whole set of houses is not similar, so the so-called “free house” is actually just another form of sale.
However, complaints are complaints, Xu Tian quite empathetic: “free” is a gimmick, but the pressure is real. Like the two owners in the “news”, Xu Tian bought his house at a high point.
If you use the wave line to depict the rise and fall of Yanjiao’s housing prices, the first upturn was in 2015. Wang Cheng, a real estate salesman, recalls that at that Time, the media reported the news that the Beijing government was moving east, and coupled with loose bank loans and macro policies such as de-stocking and shanty reform, house prices, which were 8,000 to 9,000 at the beginning of the year, had exceeded 20,000 by the end of the year.
The peak of the wave appeared at the end of 2016 and early 2017, when prices rose again from 20,000 to 35,000 six, and “the highest broken 41,000,” said Wang Cheng, the high point stage, 30,000 houses can not be found. Looking back today, those three years were like an abrupt wave on the surface of the sea, marking the madness that the town had experienced.
Real estate agents are handling procedures for Home buyers in the hall of the Housing Bureau in Yanjiao, Hebei province, in 2017. Photo by Vision China
Xu Tian’s house is stuck near the top of the wave line, having entered in November 2016 with 2.53 million yuan and 87 square feet.
Originally, he looked at another set of the same type of house, 2.51 million, 20,000 yuan cheaper, or hardcover. When the down payment of nearly 800,000 yuan was put together, his Parents did not quite agree and kept saying, “You just graduated, this step is a little big, right?”
Xu Tian was a bit hesitant, and went back to consider it for a week, but still couldn’t decide. On the weekend, he went to Yanjiao and learned that the suite had already been sold. In the crisis of not being able to buy, he regretted “delaying” while rushing to buy another house of the same type – even though it was 20,000 more expensive and still a rough house. The atmosphere of “house robbery”, Xu Tian’s determination to buy a house has become firm.
As a property salesman, Wang Cheng witnessed the madness during that period. Usually, sales people look for customers around, but at that time, almost all customers came to sales. Highway intersections, bus stops, sales offices, roadside …… “There are sales where there are people, and where there are people there are customers.” It was not uncommon to close four or five orders a day. The income of the sales once doubled several times or even a dozen times: low-grade monthly income of 20,000 to 30,000, mid-range 70,000 to 150,000, high-grade can reach 15 to 200,000.
Real estate agents stand at the highway exit waiting for home buyers. Photo source Visual China
In such an atmosphere, it is difficult for anyone to cover their pockets, and so is Xu Tian.
In the beginning of 2017, Xu Tian saw on his cell phone that the house he bought for 2.53 million had been valued at 3.2 million, with an average of nearly 37,000 per square meter. although it was not the time to sell the house and replace it in Beijing, but seeing the asset appreciating, “I’m sure I’m happy and comfortable”, but also glad that I bought it early, and then later, I could not afford it. I can’t afford to buy it.
At that time, like Xu Tian in the boom busy “on board” people did not expect that the upward wave line suddenly reversed, and all the way down.
Since March 2017, the regulation has been continuously increased, and non-resident families who can provide proof of local social insurance payment or tax payment for 3 years or more are limited to purchase 1 set of housing. Since then, the Yanjiao housing market has gradually cooled down.
Now, four years later, the average price of Xu Tian’s house on the sales website is more than 18,000 per square meter, which is a loss of about 800,000 to 900,000.
In Yanjiao, the number of “Xu Tians” is not small. After a few years of continuous decline, the number of owners and investors who gathered from all over the country have even been left with “negative equity” – the market price of the house is already lower than the money of the loan, in addition to the down payment.
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Yanjiao, a small town located in Sanhe, Hebei Province, adjacent to Beijing, has long been regarded as a transit point for many young people drifting northward. Some people even concluded that everyone who comes to Yanjiao is here to leave Yanjiao.
He concluded that most people have the obsession to buy a house, “they can endure the long commute, but not the lack of their own home”, so when they do not have enough money or are not qualified to buy a house in Beijing, they come to Yanjiao to buy a house for the transition. After a few years, the house, along with the rising prices, will be remitted into the savings and turned into a down payment for a house in Beijing.
This is what happened to Xu Tian when he bought his house. The house was still rough until he bought it in 2016, and when Xu Tian asked, the owner was really in it for investment, and the 2.53 million Xu Tian handed over would become part of the landlord’s capital to replace it in Beijing.
That year, Xu Tian graduated from graduate school, before opening a new phase of life, and his girlfriend discussed the future planning: he chose to take the work of the account; she chose a job with good treatment. The two of them worked hard together to get a firm foothold in Beijing, have a home of their own, and then live the rest of their lives in peace and happiness.
I didn’t expect that the plan would be disrupted soon. After joining the company, according to the rules of the unit, Xu Tian didn’t get a hukou quota and lost the opportunity to “become a Beijinger”. Lost, can’t figure out, but finally have to face reality: twenty-six or seven years old, should have a house of their own, and then enter the Family and Marriage; housing prices “one day at a time” to rise, Xu Tian think, “is definitely better to buy a car early in the morning, the poorer the more people want to live a good life, you have to Seize the opportunity.”
Because they were not qualified to buy a house in Beijing, Xu Tian and his girlfriend went to Zhuozhou, Gu’an and other areas around Beijing to look at houses, and finally chose Yanjiao – the closest to Beijing, the most convenient traffic, where developers can be seen everywhere to play the slogan: “30 minutes to China World Trade Center ” “There is always a light waiting for you to go home” “What Beijing can’t give you, Yanjiao can”.
Long lines form every afternoon in front of the bus stop for Beijing Guomao back to Yanjiao, and riders are often crowded in the queue and on the bus in order to get home early. Photo by Vision China
At that time, standing in the rough room, Xu Tian looked at the sunlight coming in from the south and the big window in the master bedroom, and was quite happy, imagining that it would be a good nest to accompany him through the transition period: when the house price went up in the future and he was qualified to buy a house in Beijing, he would replace it, just like the owner, and realize his dream of putting down roots in Beijing.
Now, he feels that the suite in Yanjiao is likely to be trapped, and “it would be a blood loss to sell it”. Longer-term planning is still to settle in Beijing, perhaps in Tongzhou, but at the moment, carrying “negative equity”, this dream can only be prolonged.
In 2014, he bought his first suite, which was just in demand, at a cost of more than 10,000 per square meter, and his account was moved to Yanjiao, where he temporarily settled down. 2018, the price of housing went through a high point and fell back, and under the purchase restriction policy, Zhang realized that others could not buy, but he could buy, so he hurried to have another set, “this time it feels like speculation in stocks. Psychology. After the release of the purchase limit is sure to rise, do not think about earning more, as a financial product it.”
I didn’t expect that the release of the purchase limit has not waited, housing prices began to fall up again, “thought (2018) bottomed out, the results you can never explore the bottom of it.” By now, 1.85 million bought into the house, on the sales site, 1.6 million can not be sold.
Originally, Zhang planned to work in Beijing for a few years and then replace it in his hometown in the provincial capital or go south to Suzhou and Hangzhou, but now, with two suites trapped in Yanjiao, he can only continue to delay the planning date.
The new house as an investment is still in rough condition, and Zhang calculated that if he decorated it, the lowest grade would cost him 50,000 to 60,000, and if he could successfully rent it out, the monthly rent would be just over 1,000, and after a few years, he would have to redecorate it, which would cost him tens of thousands of dollars, so he thought it would be better to forget it.
Step back, it is used to live on their own, and the surrounding facilities have not yet kept up, the community stands alone, except for a supermarket, there is nothing nearby. Last year, his wife was pregnant with their second child, and Zhang planned to replace the bunk bed in his eldest daughter’s bedroom after the birth of his youngest daughter, and put aside his plans to move to another city.
In Yanjiao, there are similar experiences all over the place. Some people want to return to their hometowns, but now they find it hard to realize their properties in Yanjiao; some people want to struggle for a few years to save some money, then sell their houses in Yanjiao and move to the south, but now they find that “they have gone back to their former homes overnight and can’t afford to change their houses”; some people are forced by their families to sell their houses and let them divorce if they don’t sell. Some people were forced by their families to sell their houses and divorce them if they didn’t. They finally sold their Yanjiao houses at a low price of 1.7 million, and the whole family was ready to move to Hangzhou, and now they are trying to raise money to make a down payment of 2 million. In the words of Wang Cheng: “The next step in life planning is completely disrupted and can only be put off and waited for.”
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In the past few years, Wang Cheng’s feelings are very obvious: the year 30,000 fifty-six open house, later 18,000 no one to buy; call about people, about not; full of the street “pick up” customers disappeared, walk around to expand customers, but also almost difficult to succeed. Once a monthly income of more than 100,000 scenery is no longer, hard-working sales, annual income of more than 100,000 is already considered good, ordinary, or 70,000 to 80,000. Wang Cheng performance is still good, customer resources are also more, stay; many colleagues can not stay, some to do small business, and some change to delivery.
Recently, someone live on social media cut off the mortgage (more than their financial strength of the home buyers, because they can not afford the monthly payments and default, the property will be repossessed by the bank and auction, the buyer becomes a person of default): “Called the bank, said can not afford to pay, come to pick up the house.” Several netizens came out to comfort, “breaking the mortgage is the next best thing” “this house bought ……” “there should be a way out” “To not be urgent, stick to five years more good.”
The owner who claimed to cut off the mortgage said, once 28,000 to buy into the house, now 15,000 hanging two years can not be sold, even if sold is not enough to pay off the loan, the pit is too big, simply do not fill it.
Wang Cheng said, the real choice to cut off the homeowners are very few, either just need to meet the urgent need for money for the big event, or investment customers have a problem with liquidity, “but where a little way will not choose to cut off the mortgage.”
Those “tales of woe” are being passed around among people who share the same illness. A real estate agent said that his colleague chose to cut off the mortgage, the other party had bought a house of more than 2 million at the high point of housing prices, the monthly payment of 12,000. When the property market is booming, the agent’s income is also high, but now, the property market is cold, his income also all the way down, the once small monthly payment has now become a difficult amount of money to pay, he and the “free house” news of the owners, no down payment will be the house changed hands. The next thing you know, the receiver has been paying back for more than a year, feeling that they have lost money, but also do not pay back, and soon, the agent became a person out of credit.
“If you’re not at the end of your rope and emptying your home, who’s going to break your mortgage?” Sun Xue said that the Yan suburban homeowners she knows have not yet cut off their mortgage payments, “can’t sell, sold also ‘cut meat’, can only carry hard.” The reality of depreciating assets and the possibility of declining ability to repay loans: “I am surrounded by people whose income has not increased, especially those over 35 years old. I can’t help it, I have to carry it first.”
Photo source screenshot of “Anjian
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Many homeowners who have been living in Yanjiao for several years have various WeChat groups in their phones, many of which have become “grievance groups” or “catharsis groups” after the drop in housing prices. The “urban” community is a community of people who complain about a reality that may not change for a while.
At noon on a working day, the “urban white-collar workers” turned back into “Yanjiao homeowners” and took advantage of their leisure to chat in the group.
“The second-hand houses are upside down, unique.” Someone once again complained about the different purchase restriction policies for second-hand houses and first-hand houses, and then someone else joined in and added, “The thought of a house in Yanjiao gives me a headache, so I’m going to spit it out in the group to lower the pressure.” This sentence got a lot of resonance, a homeowner picked up on it: “It’s useless to talk to people about how hard it is, no one empathizes with them, and they scold you behind your back for deserving it.”
And many times in the past, like small talk, spitting, complaining, sympathy for each other, and finally, someone helpless: “consume it, can not see hope.” Others said, “Hang in there, when the 2025 subway is open, it can be rented or sold, and the circulation is definitely much stronger than now.” Comforting others is also like self-soothing.
In 2015, when he first joined the industry, he was caught up in the good times of Yanjiao real estate, and the feedback from customers was all thanks: “Wang, thank you so much, I bought a house after listening to you, I made a profit.” But after 2017, almost every week, he received calls from clients who complained to him, “I lost too much money.” He has also seen owners go to the developer and make trouble.
People often talk about the fact that, at that time, the housing price in Tongzhou was similar to that in Yanjiao, and some people drove to Yanjiao to see houses. In the early years, Yizhuang was not expensive either, at a few thousand yuan per square foot, and some people thought it was a “shithole” when they bought a house, but now it has become an economic and technological development zone.
And what about Yanjiao at that time, not only did it occupy a favorable location and policy, compared to Tongzhou and Yizhuang at that time, Yanjiao “had new and beautiful houses” and was already “town-like”, but a few years later, like a net, it covered the young people who bought houses at high points underneath.
Wrapped up in the tide of the times, they lamented, “Buying a house is really a matter of timing, location and people.” Depend on timing, policy, environment, choice, and sometimes, it seems, a little bit of luck.
But no matter what, life must go on. “More people, like Xu Tian, are trapped in Yanjiao and “simmering” first.
The initial plan to leave Yanjiao for Beijing is now being extended indefinitely, with Xu Tian and his lover commuting between Beijing and Yanjiao every day to earn money to support their family and repay the monthly mortgage payments of nearly 10,000 yuan each month.
Since 2016, as more and more people flock to Yanjiao, the slogan “30 minutes to China World Trade Center” has been difficult to achieve, and it is not uncommon to encounter checkpoints that block traffic for an hour or two.
In 2020, when the Epidemic broke out, proof of work, proof of residence plus nucleic acid reports were often checked one by one like a pass. Some media reported that at the most jammed times, it took some people five hours to get to the office.
Beijing commuters living in Yanjiao on their way to work. Photo by Vision China
In previous years, Xu Tian carpooled to and from work, but because of traffic jams and the lack of free time, he bought an electric bike the summer before last. The entrance to the checkpoint reserved a lane of about 1.5 meters for bicycles, electric bikes and pedestrians, so there was no need to queue with motor vehicles, which saved Xu Tian a lot of time during the epidemic.
Xu Tian’s unit works at 8:30 a.m. Every morning the alarm clock goes off at 6:20 a.m. He gets up, washes up and goes out 20 minutes later. It takes 17 minutes to go from home to Lucheng subway station, which is 9 kilometers in total, and then he gets into the subway, which takes 1 hour and 5 minutes for line 6 to line 14. Usually, Xu Tian can sit at his work station before 8:20.
In the recent year, the time on the subway was basically used by Xu Tian to brush up on his plans to take the civil service exam, although he still does not know when he can buy a house in Beijing, it is always safe to settle the matter of hukou first.
But it’s always hard for him to concentrate, so as he was brushing up, he switched the App to Weibo and typed in “Yanjiao” to see if there were any latest developments. “I’m actually most concerned about whether there are any good policies in Yanjiao, and whether there are any actual actions to implement the good policies. Xu Tian said, “In fact, some people have no chance to live in Beijing, and some don’t know when they will become Beijingers, but we sincerely hope that the place where we live will develop well and be closer to Beijing.”
Sometimes, the more Xu Tian thinks about it, the harder he feels: why did he graduate in 2016, even if it was a year earlier or later? At least you won’t have to carry “negative equity” as you do now.
In the early years, there were media reports that the northern drifters in Yanjiao were reluctant to admit that they lived in Yanjiao, describing it as “east of Beijing”, “outside the sixth ring”, “near Songzhuang painter village”, and some simply called it “Yanjiao”. They describe it as “east of Beijing”, “outside the 6th ring road”, “near Songzhuang painter village”, and some simply call it: Beijing East Yanjiao.
But around 2014, rising housing prices and the continued importation of population brought glory to Yanjiao, and the northern drifters interviewed said they were willing to “make a big sound and say that the family lives in Yanjiao”.
And now, after the turning point of 2017, the continued decline in assets and lack of improved commuting misery has once again made people reluctant to mention that they live in Yanjiao. Xu Tian says, about there, it is inevitable to explain a lot, how are the prices? How do you get to work when it’s so far away? Even compared to Yanqing in the northwest corner of Beijing, Yanjiao seems a bit more “miserable”, and Xu Tian is reluctant to talk about his own misery.
So, when someone asks, “Where is your home?” Xu Tian says, “Tongzhou.” (Author: Wang Shuangxing; Xu Tian, Wang Cheng and Sun Xue are pseudonyms in this article.
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