"Bottom-fishing" core cities' "old and small" properties, some people buy up to 8 units in a year

The popularity of second-hand homes in Chengdu continues to rise.

Chengdu Real Estate Trading data shows that on March 23, the net signed volume of second-hand homes in Chengdu reached 1,679 units, setting a new single-day transaction high in nearly a year; as of that day, the transaction volume of second-hand homes in March had reached 17,262 units, an increase of over 50% month-on-month.

A reporter from the Daily Economic News noted that during this wave of second-hand home transactions, “old and small” (referring mainly to older small-sized residential units in the main urban area) has performed particularly well, with instances of buyers purchasing in bulk. Recently, a female buyer became popular on social media for sharing her experience of purchasing 8 “old and small” units in Chengdu over the course of a year. It is reported that the total price of these 8 units is 4.4 million yuan, with a total monthly rental income of approximately 22,000 yuan.

“Little Round” Sharing Session Photo by Chen Li

Bulk Buying of “Old and Small”

“From last year to the beginning of this year, I bought 8 ‘old and small’ units in Chengdu, all paid in cash. After deducting the monthly mortgage payments, my pure rental income exceeds 9,000 yuan per month, with an average rent-to-price ratio of about 5%.” On the afternoon of March 22, a reporter from Daily Economic News met “Little Round” at a tea house in the Jinniu District of Chengdu during a sharing session. This buyer, who gained fame on social media for “bottom-fishing” 8 “old and small” units in Chengdu, shared her investment experience with 20 prospective buyers who had already purchased or were preparing to purchase “old and small” units.

In “Little Round’s” sharing, the analysis of Chengdu’s neighborhoods, popular areas, and rental income were divided into different sections, all based on her two years of home-buying experience.

In 2024, “Little Round” sold one of her properties and had some money to invest. She initially considered various financial options such as insurance and bank deposits, but after comparing returns, she chose to invest in real estate. “I am a local of Chengdu, and I have previous experience renting out properties, so I have a certain understanding of the rental community.” Additionally, as a mother of two children, she hopes to provide a stable income for her children’s future and also save for her retirement.

At the beginning of 2025, “Little Round” began to visit properties offline, focusing her home buying on core locations within the second ring road, valuing subway access and rental demand, while strictly controlling the unit price to be within 13,000 yuan per square meter. “The area within the second ring road of the main city has always been the most complete in terms of commercial and transportation facilities, with stable rental demand and potential expectations for urban renewal. Therefore, the ‘old and small’ units with low total prices and high rent-to-price ratios have solid income attributes.”

To that end, she also specially created a detailed calculation sheet, using a 5% rent-to-price ratio as a core selection criterion, clearly stating that properties around 400,000 yuan need to have rent exceeding 1,500 yuan/month to cover costs, and with renovations, the rent-to-price ratio needs to meet the 5% standard. In the first two months of 2025, “Little Round” made a down payment of 500,000 to 600,000 yuan to purchase 6 units, and then bought another 2 units in the second half of 2025 and early 2026.

From the distribution of her purchased properties, they are all located in mature areas within the second ring road of Chengdu, such as Yulin, Huaxi Slope, and Mengzhui Bay; regarding rental prices, they all exceed 1,500 yuan/month, with an average rent of over 2,800 yuan/month for the 8 units. Two of these units are currently under renovation, and based on the current rental levels in the area, it is expected that the rent will exceed 4,000 yuan/month once the renovations are completed.

“They are all small units, with each unit priced around 400,000 yuan, and most come with leases; I only paid a 15% down payment for all the properties, maximizing the loan policy.” “Little Round” told reporters that the rent-to-price ratio of the properties she purchased can reach up to 7%, but she “values long-term holding more.”

Coincidentally, recently, a “90s” mother in Chengdu also shared her story on a third-party platform about how from last year’s Spring Festival to early this year, she spent 3.699 million yuan to buy 5 “old and small” units, collecting 10,600 yuan in rent each month. The core logic is similarly to capitalize on “urban renewal + renting to pay off loans,” with her home-buying strategy being “only select core ‘old and small’ units in core locations.”

Additionally, on March 16, 2026, on the Alibaba auction website, a 48 square meter property at No. 1, Telecom Road, Huaxi Slope, Wuhou District, was auctioned off. The market assessment price was around 13,000 yuan per square meter, with a starting price of 460,000 yuan. After 71 rounds of bidding, this property was ultimately sold for a total price of 1.03 million yuan, translating to about 21,500 yuan per square meter.

With more and more buyers entering the market, “Little Round” has clearly felt a wave of rising prices in the “old and small” market in Chengdu since the beginning of this year. “Landlords often temporarily withdraw listings and raise prices, and quality properties often need to be ‘snatched up’.” “Little Round” also reminded, “Investing in ‘old and small’ is suitable for those with spare cash who can hold for the long term. New buyers need to visit properties in person and select rationally; they should not blindly chase high prices.”

Beware of Liquidity Risks in Investing in “Old and Small”

The reporter noted that as the market for “old and small” units heats up, it is not only in Chengdu; there are also groups of people “bottom-fishing” for “old and small” units in cities like Shanghai and Tianjin. Their core logic is based on “total price vs. high rent-to-price ratio (monthly rent × 12 / total property price).”

In Tianjin, according to media reports, citizen Mr. Li spent 3.5 million yuan to purchase 7 “old and small” properties. “For 500,000 yuan, you can buy a two-bedroom ‘old and small’ unit in the core area of Tianjin, with a monthly rent of 2,000 yuan, giving a rent-to-price ratio of 4.8%. This generates a fixed cash flow income each month, and in the future, I can sell it at an appropriate time.”

In Shanghai, on March 7, the daily net signing volume of second-hand homes once exceeded 1,324 units, breaking the record for nearly a year. According to statistics from the E-House Research Institute, among these, properties priced below 2 million yuan accounted for 50% of transactions, while those below 3 million yuan accounted for 70%.

Yan Yujin, deputy director of the E-House Research Institute, stated that the core logic of the current “old and small” market is the return of asset pricing to “cash flow.” In a low-interest-rate environment, whether the rent-to-price ratio can cover the cost of funds and whether it is superior to other financial products has become an important measure of investment value. In most cities, the rent-to-price ratio has exceeded 2%, with some cases even achieving a critical breakthrough of “renting to pay off loans.”

A recent report released by the E-House Research Institute indicated that the current average rent-to-price ratio for “old and small” units in 8 key cities is 2.67%. Among them, Chengdu has the highest at 3.8%; followed by Wuhan, Chongqing, and Nanjing, with rent-to-price ratios of 3.20%, 3.03%, and 3.0%, respectively; Shanghai’s is 2.45%, but the rent-to-price ratios of “old and small” related cases in urban areas generally range from 2.3% to 3.1%.

According to Yan Yujin, the current rent-to-price ratio has outperformed deposit interest rates and is gradually approaching mortgage interest rates. “The average rent-to-price ratio of 2.67% in these 8 cities is higher than the 5-year fixed deposit rate of 1.9%, the 10-year national bond yield of 1.8%, and the 3-year large denomination certificate of deposit rate of 2.0%. At the same time, considering that in some cities, mortgage rates have fallen below 3%, this means that under mortgage conditions, rental income can basically cover monthly payments. For investors who prefer RMB assets and value location, ‘old and small’ units have certain quasi-fixed income attributes.”

However, he also pointed out that this “cash flow game” is highly dependent on multiple premises, such as full occupancy without vacancy, continuous rent increases, fixed monthly payments, no large maintenance taxes, stable policy environments, and low time costs for renting out properties. In reality, factors such as vacancy periods, renovation costs, and taxes can significantly erode actual returns.

Therefore, “investing in ‘old and small’ units requires caution regarding liquidity risks. For some properties over 30 years old, banks may refuse to lend, and buyers can only purchase in cash, limiting the pool of potential buyers; there are also risks of declining property prices eroding principal and rental fluctuations.”

Daily Economic News