Economic Observer reporter Tian Guobao

In an old house built in the 1970s in Putuo District, Shanghai, Lin Ran, born in the 1990s, carried out a large-scale renovation with heavy investment. He removed the original partitions and converted the two bedroom apartment, which was less than 50 square meters, into an open plan one bedroom apartment, making the previously dim and cramped space bright and spacious.

This old house was purchased in 2017. At first, Lin Ran only regarded it as a transitional asset and planned to replace it after he had the money. However, the threshold for new houses is still high, and the old house is difficult to sell at the ideal price, so Lin Ran gave up the replacement plan.

Similar to Lin Ran, more and more young people are no longer obsessed with solving housing problems in one go, but are re examining the meaning of living.

Renovation of old houses

Lin Ran's house has an area of less than 50 square meters. Entering through the entrance door, there is a bathroom of approximately 2 square meters and an open kitchen of 4 square meters; There is no traditional living room, replaced by a movable long table that serves both dining and office functions; After connecting the balcony with the interior, it was transformed into a bar counter, forming a semi open study.

Lin Ran introduced that the house originally had two bedrooms, north and south, with a central living room of only three or four square meters and a closed kitchen. After spatial reconstruction, the overall use of pure white paint and tiles makes the space visually more transparent, forming a sharp contrast with the old environment outside the building.

The unit price of this property was about 50000 yuan/square meter when it was purchased, and it once exceeded 70000 yuan/square meter at a high point in the market. Although the current listing price remains around 50000 yuan/square meter, the actual transaction price has dropped to about 40000 yuan/square meter, and transactions are not active.

I can't sell it, nor can I afford to exchange it. "This is Lin Ran's intuitive summary of the past few years.

This' stuck 'state is a common situation among many young homeowners. On the one hand, with the advent of the stock era, the supply structure of new houses is gradually shifting towards improvement, with the area and total price moving up synchronously; On the other hand, the transaction cycle of the second-hand housing market has been extended and price expectations have been lowered, making the original replacement path no longer smooth.

At this point, renovating old houses has become a practical solution. Compared to purchasing a new house, the funding threshold for renovating an old house is lower and the investment pace is more flexible. Lin Ran spent a total of 180000 yuan on this renovation. From the perspective of home decoration, this is a considerable investment, but compared to the down payment and monthly payment for purchasing a house, this expenditure method is more affordable.

Old houses often come with limitations in terms of structure and equipment, such as aging water and electricity systems, unreasonable pipeline layout, and load-bearing walls that cannot be removed or modified. These all affect the design plan and cause frequent adjustments during the construction process, thereby pushing up the budget.

At first, it was thought that 100000 yuan could be completed, but in the end, it often requires 200000 yuan or even higher, "said a construction manager who has been engaged in the renovation of old houses for a long time. The difficulty of renovating old houses is not in the decoration itself, but in dealing with unforeseeable problems.

For young people like Lin Ran, renovating old houses not only improves living conditions within a limited budget, but also avoids the uncertain risks brought by market fluctuations, given the unstable income expectations and the still to be observed trend of the real estate market.

Redefine Life

Zhou Lan, who works in Beijing, will purchase a one bedroom apartment in Yanjiao, Hebei, across the river from Beijing, for less than 300000 yuan by the end of 2025. The frequent experience of sharing and moving houses in recent years has made her feel exhausted. Although Zhou Lan had hoped to buy a property in Beijing, her actual income and savings discouraged her from pursuing this idea.

Zhou Lan's monthly income ranges from 6000 yuan to 8000 yuan, and the rental budget is within 3000 yuan. Under this budget, there is not much room for choosing living conditions. Shared living lacks a space for solitude; Although long-term rental apartments have independence, the space is limited; If you pursue a better living environment and space, you will need to bear longer commuting time.

After comprehensive consideration, she chose to buy a house in Yanjiao. Although the commuting time has been extended to about an hour and a half, she can accept it because her company starts work at 10 o'clock and the burden of buying a house is not high. The original owner told her that the total price of the property exceeded one million yuan at the market peak.

After the Spring Festival in 2026, Zhou Lan began renovating the house. She cancelled the traditional living room and split the space originally used for receiving guests into a reading area, a yoga area, and a temporary reception area. There is very little time spent sitting on the sofa watching TV throughout the year, but there is a lot of time for work, reading, and solitude, "she said.

This "de living room" design is gradually becoming popular in the renovation of small apartments, prioritizing the allocation of space to high-frequency usage scenarios within a limited area.

Small apartments have limited space, and renovation needs to prioritize storage issues. Customized cabinets, hidden storage, and the reasonable use of vertical space have become key design considerations.

A more significant change is reflected in the relationship between residence and work. With the gradual normalization of remote work, more and more young people are transforming traditional living rooms into multifunctional spaces that combine work and reception, or sacrificing a bedroom to transform it into a study.

These changes mean that people are no longer satisfied with standardized living spaces, but are redefining living spaces based on their needs.

Make peace with oneself

In the past decade, the real estate market has been on the rise, and houses have become an important channel for people to double their wealth. From small to large units, from remote suburbs to core areas, "appreciation" is an important pivot for home purchase decisions. But in the context of 'housing for living, not for speculation', people are starting to re-examine the relationship between houses and life.

In 2016, Chen Hao, who works in the finance industry, spent nearly ten million yuan to purchase a school district house in Xicheng, Beijing in order to enroll his children in higher quality schools. In 2025, after his child entered high school, he once planned to exchange for a new house, but after repeated calculations, he eventually gave up.

Although the current housing prices have not fallen below the purchase cost, the higher point has fallen by about 20%. If a new house is to be exchanged, without increasing debt, the only option is to choose a more peripheral area. Even if the replacement is completed, as the child is studying nearby, he still needs to rent a house near the school, which actually increases additional expenses.

In Chen Hao's opinion, it is better to invest in housing rather than paying rent to the market. Although the old house is old, it can still provide a better living experience through renovation.

As a financial practitioner, he also makes judgments based on asset attributes. This property is located in the core urban area, with school district attributes and relatively stable risk resistance capabilities; In contrast, although new houses have more advantages in product strength, their location is weaker, prices are higher, and their resistance to decline may not be better than old houses in the core area.

In the second half of 2025, Chen Hao will begin to deeply renovate his old house. In the original old-fashioned two bedroom apartment, the bedroom occupied the main space. After communicating with the designer, he integrated the house into three functional areas. One is the housekeeping area, which includes a kitchen, dining room, and household functions; The second is the leisure area, with a centralized storage system on one side and bookshelves, desks, and a workspace on the other side. A semi enclosed small bedroom has also been designed for children; The third is the residential area, which is used for daily living of couples, including beds, wardrobes, and dressing tables.

Chen Hao's choice reflects the current thinking of many people on asset allocation. When there is uncertainty in asset prices and income expectations, investing funds in renovation can improve living standards and reduce investment risks. If a large amount of funds are invested in the replacement of a new house, the risk may be higher.

(At the request of the interviewee, Lin Ran, Zhou Lan, and Chen Hao are given pseudonyms)