A man in China recently purchased a fully furnished, two-bedroom apartment for just Rs 155 during the Double 11 shopping festival. The unbelievable deal was part of a promotional live-stream campaign by a property developer aiming to boost attention amidst a sluggish housing market.
Imagine being able to purchase a two bedroom, fully furnished apartment for less than the price of a cup of coffee. A man in China has done precisely that, winning an apartment for a mere 13.3 yuan (around Rs 155) during the country’s yearly Double 11 shopping festival.
The unusual deal was made on a live streaming e-commerce platform where a property developer offered the apartment at a heavily subsidized price as part of a promotional campaign. The offer attracted considerable attention, with 1,677 people reportedly participating in the online auction.
The apartment is located in Hebi, a city in China’s Henan province. Spread across 88 square metres (around 947 square feet), the property comes fully furnished and includes household appliances and interior fittings.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the buyer secured the apartment after the developer covered most of its cost, allowing him to pay just 13.3 yuan.
The winning bidder reportedly admitted that he had not expected to secure the property. Rather than moving into the apartment permanently, he plans to use it as a holiday home during occasional winter visits. Interestingly, the buyer has no immediate plans to relocate from his current home in Heilongjiang.
However, the Rs 155 purchase price is not the only amount he will have to pay. He is expected to spend around 2,000 yuan (approximately Rs 28,000) on deed taxes to complete the ownership transfer.
While the winning bid was remarkably low, the apartment is worth considerably more than the amount paid.
Local property platforms cited in the report estimate the second-hand apartment’s value at around 40,000 yuan (approximately Rs 5.6 lakh). Similar properties in the residential complex reportedly sell for around 2,700 yuan (approximately Rs 38,000) per square metre.
This means the buyer has secured a property at a fraction of its estimated market value, although additional taxes and ownership-related expenses still apply.
Why Was the Apartment Sold for Rs 155?
The extraordinary discount was part of a marketing campaign organised by the property developer during China’s Double 11 shopping festival, one of the country’s biggest online shopping events.
The promotion was designed to attract viewers to the company’s live-streaming platform and generate publicity. Such heavily discounted offers have become a way for brands to stand out during the shopping festival.
The campaign also comes at a challenging time for China’s property market, which has been dealing with weak housing demand, falling prices in several cities and declining buyer confidence.
What began as an attention-grabbing promotional offer has now turned into an unusual property story, with a buyer securing a fully furnished apartment for just Rs 155.