"Hey, we're still better off," Qian Zhi said. "We bought relatively early. The people who bought houses in the last two years are the ones who are really suffering."
Although whether you were suffering or not really depended on who you were comparing yourself to.
Compared to properties in the central and inner rings, his house's value had dropped by nearly 20%. But compared to those who had bought in this neighborhood two years ago, they were considered lucky. Back then, the price per square meter in this area had peaked at 70,000. Anyone who bought in during the last two years faced an immediate drop of 20,000 per square meter—a 30% loss that wiped out their entire down payment and then some.
"People with savings are choosing to pay off their mortgages early," Qian Zhi continued. "But those without money can only choose to default. If I hadn't run into an old classmate like you, my family might have been next."
