The ugly truth of urban housing boom

Four years ago, my friend's father bought her a tiny apartment in a remote area in Beijing. It cost nearly 10,000 yuan per sq m and we believed her family was either too rich or had made a huge mistake. Now the price of her apartment, which is only a five-minute walk from a subway station, has jumped to 25,000 yuan per sq m. Now, we see that her father had great foresight.

Some people believe that Beijing has relatively low housing prices. "Look at New York, look at London, Look at Tokyo," they argue. However, the sad thing is that people in Beijing don't earn as much as people do in New York, London or Tokyo.

Based on today's prices, it will take me at least two decades to buy my friend's tiny apartment.