The only daughter from Chaoshan spent 6.35 million yuan to buy an apartment in Beijing with full payment, saying "I don't want to be in debt anymore."

6.35 million yuan was transferred to the seller's account in one go.

A decade ago, this might have been a sum of money sufficient to cover the down payment for two or three apartments. Today, some young people are using it to buy an apartment in Beijing in full.

On the day she received the property certificate, Cindy, who had been living in Beijing as a migrant for nearly a decade, finally settled down in the city. Without a 30 - year mortgage and the monthly pressure of fixed deductions, this apartment was bought in full by her parents.

Similar stories are happening to more and more young people.

In Shenzhen, the Xiaohongshu blogger "Dora without A Dream" emptied her decade - long savings to buy an apartment of her own. In Baoding, Xiaobei and his wife bought a school - district apartment in full after seven years of marriage through their joint efforts.

On social platforms, topics such as "buying an apartment in full", "repaying the mortgage ahead of schedule", and "not wanting to be in debt" are gaining increasing popularity. This forms a sharp contrast to the home - buying logic of the past decade.

In the past, "borrowing as much as possible" was almost the standard practice for Chinese people when buying an apartment. With the expectation of rising housing prices, the lower the down payment and the longer the loan term, the more cost - effective it was. Many people took on 30 - year mortgages, hoping to accumulate wealth through leverage.

Today, more and more homebuyers are starting to think the other way around: if an apartment is just for living, then compared with the debt pressure in the next few decades, a home without a mortgage might bring more sense of security.

This change is also reflected in the data.

According to data from the Shenzhen Shell Research Institute, in the first quarter of this year, the proportion of full - payment buyers in the second - hand apartments sold on the platform reached 25.1%. For properties priced below 2 million yuan, this proportion further rose to 34.1%.

Meanwhile, the national balance of individual housing loans has been declining for three consecutive years. According to central bank statistics, as of the end of 2025, the national balance of individual housing loans was 37.01 trillion yuan, a decrease of 1.93 trillion yuan from the peak at the beginning of 2023. As the balance of individual housing loans of China Construction Bank fell below 6 trillion yuan, the six major state - owned banks have also bid farewell to the "6 - trillion - yuan era" of individual housing loans.

From seeking more leverage to actively reducing debt, a change in the concept of home - buying is quietly taking place.

"I'd go to the sales office whenever I had free time." A Chaoshan girl bought an apartment in Beijing for 6.35 million yuan in full

Perhaps due to the innate sensitivity of Chaoshan people, Cindy started paying attention to the real - estate market earlier than most of her peers.

In 2012, she came to Shenzhen from Shantou to study at university. Those years saw a rapid rise in housing prices. A senior in her dormitory had already bought an apartment in Shenzhen, which gave her quite a shock.

"I started to like looking at apartments back then. I regarded going out to look at apartments as a form of exercise." She even took her parents from Shantou to Shenzhen to inspect properties. However, as a college student with a collective household registration at that time, she was not eligible to buy an apartment. It was not until she obtained a Beijing household registration that buying an apartment was put on the agenda again.

She has almost visited all the properties suitable for young people in the Beijing market. "I've visited two or three dozen properties over the years. I'd go to the sales office whenever I had free time." Cindy is a media professional with a strong curiosity about the world. For her, looking at apartments is essentially observing the changes in the Chinese economy.

Her long - term attention to the market allowed her to wait for the right time to buy.

After she finally decided to make a purchase, she didn't hesitate between taking a loan or paying in full. The reason was simple. After the significant decline in housing prices, her parents' cash was enough to cover the full price of the apartment. In addition, there was a practical consideration. "This is my pre - marital property. I don't want any complicated issues to arise in the future due to a loan or joint mortgage repayment."

Buying the apartment in full was more like a natural allocation of family resources for Cindy. "I'm an only child. This money will be mine in the future anyway. What's the fundamental difference between enjoying it now and enjoying it after I'm 80?"

On the day of the actual payment, she and her parents went through the formalities together. The money was transferred from her father's account, and the whole process was very calm. On the day the apartment was sold, the family had a simple buffet to celebrate.

It was after moving in that Cindy truly felt the significance of owning an apartment. After moving into her new home at the end of last year, her retired father often came from their hometown to Beijing to help take care of the apartment. She also started trying many things she had never thought of during her renting days.

For example, she started growing flowers. There are more and more green plants on the balcony, and furniture and ornaments are being added little by little. Things that used to seem troublesome and not worth the effort now seem quite natural.

She doesn't shy away from the common accusation of "relying on parents". "I do rely on my parents, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it."

Cindy believes that the economic environment young people face is completely different from that of their parents' generation. "They caught the development dividends brought by the reform and opening - up and had more opportunities. Now, many young people even have a lower salary than their parents' combined pensions."

Therefore, she doesn't think it's something to be ashamed of to accept her parents' support. "Family resources are supposed to flow between generations. I'm not slacking off and have been working hard. Since the family has the ability, why not use these resources to make my life better?"

Tired of being in debt, the era of high leverage is coming to an end

Buying an apartment in full is not a new phenomenon that emerged in the past two years.

During the booming era of the real - estate market, there were also a large number of full - payment buyers. There was even a popular saying at that time: "Those paying in full, come inside. Those with a mortgage, don't block the entrance. Those using the housing provident fund, move your small yellow bikes away." However, at that time, paying in full was mainly a sign of financial strength. Today, more and more people are choosing to pay in full, which reflects a new view on debt.

During the upward cycle of the real - estate market, leveraging was almost the optimal choice. By paying only a 30% down payment, one could control 100% of the asset. If the housing price increased by 10%, the actual return rate for the homebuyer would be much higher than the principal invested. Meanwhile, with the expectation of continuous income growth, the monthly mortgage payments that seemed heavy at the beginning often became much easier to bear after a few years.

Therefore, a mortgage was regarded as the best financing tool available to ordinary people.

However, this logic is changing. A person who has been working in the real - estate industry in Guangzhou for many years told Times Finance: "Customers don't want to be in debt anymore."

"The increase in the phenomenon of full - payment purchases is mainly due to the changes in homebuyers' mentality and the logic of fund allocation," Xiao Xiaoping, the director of the Shenzhen Shell Research Institute, told Times Finance. Some consumers are less optimistic about their future income or the returns from other investments than before, so they are more inclined to buy an apartment in full.

This change is also reflected in the wave of early mortgage repayments.

Ye Fei (a pseudonym), a homeowner in Shenzhen, took out a 3.7 - million - yuan commercial loan when she bought an apartment in 2018. The mortgage interest rate was 5.39%, and the monthly payment exceeded 20,000 yuan, of which about 16,600 yuan was interest and less than 4,000 yuan was principal. If she repaid the loan normally for 30 years, the total interest she would pay would be as high as 3.77 million yuan.

Since 2022, Ye Fei has started to repay the loan ahead of schedule, repaying a total of 1.5 million yuan in principal in three installments. With the decrease in the loan amount and the adjustment of the interest rate, after deducting the part covered by the housing provident fund, her monthly payment has now dropped to more than 7,000 yuan. "I have much more cash flow now. Whether I'll continue to repay the loan ahead of schedule depends on the interest - rate changes."

In a way, early mortgage repayment and buying an apartment in full are two sides of the same psychology. Instead of using low - cost funds to expand asset size, young people are starting to value the ease brought by reducing debt.

Another important reason is that apartments have become cheaper.

According to statistics from CRIC, looking at the transaction situation in 32 key cities in 2025, the average total price per unit for both new and second - hand apartments in most cities has dropped below 3 million yuan. Even in first - tier cities, the average total price per unit for second - hand apartments is mostly below 3 million yuan.

In other words, in many cities, an apartment can be bought with 1 - 2 million yuan. "Even in Shanghai, where housing prices are relatively high, the proportion of transactions below 2 million yuan per unit in 2025 was over 44%," CRIC pointed out.

The decrease in the home - buying threshold has made it possible for transactions that originally required a loan to be completed with a full - payment purchase.

In addition to self - occupancy needs, full - payment purchases are also favored by some investment - oriented buyers.

Xiao Xiaoping said that among low - priced, small - sized properties, some investors aim to obtain stable rental income. For such buyers, if they use a mortgage, they need to bear additional interest costs, which may reduce the rental return rate. Therefore, they are more inclined to pay in full.

The aforementioned person working in the Guangzhou real - estate industry also said that current full - payment buyers mainly include home - upgraders, demolition - compensation recipients, and some investment buyers. "Full - payment transactions have a short cycle and a high certainty of payment. Sellers usually are willing to offer a lower price."

In the new - apartment market, developers also attract full - payment customers with additional discounts. For example, a luxury project in Shenzhen Bay offered an additional 96% discount for full - payment customers during its three openings. For apartments worth tens of millions of yuan, just the difference in the payment method can result in a price difference of millions of yuan.

More importantly, the change comes from the transformation of the entire investment environment.

In the past, there were many places for residents to invest their money. The real - estate market, the stock market, wealth - management products, and various investment channels could all provide relatively good returns. Therefore, people were more willing to hold cash and use leverage to expand their asset size.

Now, the situation has changed.

"Currently, the returns of various investment channels have decreased and the risks have increased, making it significantly more difficult to increase the value of funds. In the absence of better investment options, some homebuyers choose to buy an apartment in full," Xiao Xiaoping said.

During the golden age of the real - estate market, people believed that debt could create wealth. Today, more and more people believe that reducing debt first is the prerequisite for a certain life. The narrative of the high - leverage era is slowly coming to an end.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Times Finance APP" (ID: tf - app). Author: Liang Zhengyu. Republished with authorization from 36Kr.