3. New elites in real estate

Qin Xiaoya sighed, "Indeed, isn't it the case that all clothing sellers are like this now"

Qin Xiaoya: "I am not interested in these bricks and tiles. How exactly did you calculate that 2,500 per square meter?"

Qin Xiaoya finally smiled: "Gentleman Feng, you truly never stray from your main topic. I suppose I must heed your opinions now. Thank you for your assistance. Tonight, I will treat you both to a drink, you two alcoholics."

What is the total construction area of that community

Qin Xiaoya sighed again: "Even if those five thousand right feet appear, what difference does it make? According to what you just said, there are only two possibilities, both of which are unfavorable to me. What will happen then?"

Qin Xiaoya exclaimed once again: "A profit margin of one hundred percent! It is truly wonderful to be able to access bank funds. For individual businesses like ours, we can't even enter the bank's doors."

Qin Xiaoya felt a bit embarrassed by Feng Junzi's remarks and quickly shifted the topic back to real estate: "Zhou Song, you mentioned that the preliminary costs for your project are 200 yuan per ping; what exactly are those costs?"

Zhou Song: "If we do not consider the relocation and resettlement costs, it is approximately 500 per ping. Of course, what I just mentioned are all whole numbers, and I have not separately calculated the costs for marketing and advertising."

Qin Xiaoya: "So this community is of brick-concrete structure?"

Qin Xiaoya asked thoughtfully, "How could there be any issues with my funds?"

So many variations exist, Qin Xiaoya stuck out her tongue, "What is the actual cost of the house within this 2,500?"

Qin Xiaoya: "Two hundred yuan per ping of rice, one hundred thousand square meters amounts to twenty million. Is this much really necessary for surveying and design?"

Zhou Song entered through the door like a whirlwind. No matter where he goes, Zhou Song seems to be an attention-grabbing figure—talkative, fond of drinking, and full of vitality, even his walking posture exudes confidence. It is no wonder that at just thirty-one years old, he is already the owner of a sizable real estate company. Zhou Song is a high school classmate of Feng Junzi, and he happens to live in the same city now. He got to know Qin Xiaoya through Feng Junzi, but later his relationship with Qin Xiaoya likely became even closer, as they are both businesspeople.

Qin Xiaoya exclaimed: "So you real estate developers are so unscrupulous, no wonder Feng Junzi refers to you as nouveau riche and lowly gentry"

Zhou Song felt a bit embarrassed: "I am merely one of the collaborative developers"

The Wind Gentleman continued, saying: "I also asked those small vendors, if a customer negotiates the price, the store manager can reduce it by at most 1,000 yuan per pair. Isn't the ratio of your shoe's procurement cost to its selling price the same as the ratio of the wealthy local landlord's house construction cost to its selling price?"

Qin Xiaoya: "You real estate developers are truly wealthy; according to your calculations, the total investment in this community amounts to 230 million."

Upon hearing the question related to his field, Zhou Song became animated: "This question is quite specialized, and it's not easy to explain clearly. I can provide an example to help clarify. The first project I developed was not in Binhai, but in Xi'an. It was a residential community two years ago, and the selling price was 2,500 per square meter"

Zhou Song has found another opportunity to explain: "Current businesses are all the same. Your storefront pays rent every six months, while our cost of purchasing land is higher than the cost of building a house. Moreover, the land only comes with usage rights, which is equivalent to paying seventy years' rent all at once"

Zhou Song had not yet spoken, when the silent gentleman of the wind interjected: "This is called 'no business without deceit.' The last time I saw that batch of shoes displayed in your store, the label stated the original price was 1,780, and the current price was 1,280. Wasn't that also merchandise purchased for 200?"

Zhou Song began to realize that he had been overly solicitous. Qin Xiaoya had always been a woman with a strong sense of independence, so he changed his tone and said: "The hypocrite just now was right. You can treat this matter as if it never happened. This one million in goods can be considered a loan from me. Once the situation is resolved and the books are settled, how about you return both the principal and the interest to me?"

Zhou Song seemed even more embarrassed: "In fact, the total startup capital is only several tens of millions. My investment is still pieced together from various sources. The remaining gap is mostly covered by bank loans, a small portion by advances from construction units, and another part consists of pre-purchase deposits and payments from residents."

Zhou Song continued, "The time is different, the regions are different, and the buildings are different. For instance, the house you purchased is of a frame structure, while a brick-concrete structure is much cheaper."

Qin Xiaoya seemed to glance at Feng Junzi and said, "What does this have to do with me"

Zhou Song: "Approximately 100,000 square meters, not large, it is a small project"

The gentleman of the wind is relentless: "This is akin to saying that all crows in the world are equally black, yet one always hopes that other crows are a bit whiter than oneself, preferably that no other industry profits from its own business."

Qin Xiaoya: "The account cannot be calculated this way. Do you know how expensive my shop's rent is? Moreover, I also support more than ten employees, and I have to pay their wages."

The Wind Gentleman also smiled: "I am a drunkard, but Zhou the Tycoon is not; he is a great philanthropist." He had suspected from the moment Zhou Song entered that things would likely end up this way

Qin Xiaoya did not want to make Zhou Song feel too embarrassed, so she changed the subject: "You just mentioned that the profit from this project is also 200 yuan per square meter, which is about the same as the initial costs. So doesn't that mean you have earned two million in total?"

Zhou Song: "It's not that, it's slightly better than brick-concrete structures; it's a ring beam structure. We refer to it as a small frame in our promotional materials."

Qin Xiaoya: "I bought a house for 5,000 yuan per ping, what is the construction cost of the house?"

Qin Xiaoya interjected, "Why is it so cheap?"

In the elegantly decorated private room, only Qin Xiaoya, Feng Junzi, and Zhou Song were engaged in casual conversation. Qin Xiaoya was drinking tea, Zhou Song was enjoying red wine, and Feng Junzi was having beer, all serving themselves. Before stepping out, Qin Xiaoya had evidently taken great care to tidy herself up, restoring her glamorous appearance.

Zhou Song hurried over upon hearing that strange things had occurred with Qin Xiaoya's shoes. After listening to Feng Junzi's analysis, he spoke to Qin Xiaoya in a summarizing tone: "The hypocrite makes a valid point, but there is another possibility. If the other party knows that your funds are secure, they may very well sell you the remaining five thousand right-foot shoes at a high price. Without those five thousand right-foot shoes, the five thousand left-foot shoes you currently have are essentially worthless"

The gentleman Feng eagerly responded on behalf of Zhou Song: "Surveying, design, demonstration, and land leveling can all be included in the preliminary expenses"

Zhou Song replied without a moment's hesitation: "I am here."

If it were someone else, Zhou Song would definitely be reluctant to answer this question, but when Qin Xiaoya asked, it was of course different. Zhou Song patiently explained: "Let me break it down for you. When considering all the costs associated with the library, it would be approximately as follows: the initial cost is 200 yuan per square meter, the land use right for seventy years translates to about 800 yuan per square meter of building area, the relocation and construction costs combined are about 700 yuan per square meter, various taxes amount to approximately 300 yuan per square meter, and various administrative and service fees total around 300 yuan per square meter. Finally, adding a profit of 200 yuan per square meter, the total comes to 2,500 yuan."

At this moment, Feng Junzi spoke: "I do not know what to do at that time. When encountering many people in daily life, they always ask what the final target price of a stock is. In most cases, this is a question I cannot answer. What I can do is to say how to operate now"

Zhou Song: "The higher the selling price of a house, the lower the proportion of construction costs in the overall price. Your unit is a shell apartment, and the construction cost will not exceed 1,000 yuan per square meter"

Zhou Song remained silent, and Feng Junzi continued, "Of course, it won't take that much; at most, it's just a small fraction. The majority of the remaining amount is for public relations expenses. Otherwise, why would the land be given to him? How could so many real estate permits be approved?"

Qin Xiaoya is asking Zhou Song: "I bought an apartment in Xicheng District in the first half of the year for over 5,000 per ping. A few days ago, a new community near my apartment has already sold for 6,200. How did the prices rise so quickly? How do you developers determine the pricing of the houses?"