We ask homeowners and experts in China's biggest cities what first-time buyers today can get for 10,000 yuan per square meter. Reporting by He Na, Wang Ying, Zhang Xiaomin, Wang Qian and Zheng Caixiong

Although Qin Jianhua leaves for work before most people have even woken up, he is nearly always late. The roads between his apartment in Hebei province and his Beijing office are prone to lengthy traffic jams.

"One day, the bus I was on was trapped in a queue on the highway into Beijing for about two hours," said the 29-year-old researcher. "The journey usually takes one hour and 30 minutes. That day it took four hours."

Before he moved to Hebei, Qin's dream apartment was somewhere close to the China Coal Research Institute, the State-owned company where he works, which is based between the capital's second and third ring roads. When he began house hunting, however, it quickly became apparent he had no chance of finding such a place in his price range.

"With a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan ($730), prices in Beijing far exceed my purchasing power," he said. "It is almost impossible to buy a house for 10,000 yuan per square meter."

After months of searching, Qin finally found an apartment he could afford - in Yanjiao, a town 30 km from Tian'anmen Square, the de facto center of Beijing.

Although only the Chaobai River separates Yanjiao from the capital's Tongzhou district, property in Hebei is much cheaper. However, with the increase in demand, prices here are also beginning to soar.

Qin's home cost 4,300 yuan per square meter at the end of last year. Today, it is estimated to be worth almost twice as much.

"I don't like to live too far from the company but my current economic condition means I can only afford houses at this level. I have to be a Yanjiaoer," he said.

However, life in Yanjiao is not all bad, according to Ma Tianming, who moved to the town from Beijing in 2006. "Besides the lower property prices, the air here is very fresh and we get blue skies almost every day," he said.

After months of decoration, Wang Qing finally moved into his grand new apartment in early April. The property, which is in Jiuting on the outskirts of Shanghai, cost a cool 1.7 million yuan ($250,000), around 10,000 yuan per square meter.

Thanks to a decade of savings, the 35-year-old was able to pay more than half of the price up front. However, the bank loan he took out for the rest means he and his new wife will need to pay back about 5,000 yuan every month for the next two decades.

"Some would say it is not worth being a 'house slave' but, despite the fact we are living in Shanghai's outskirts' outskirts, it is our home," said Wang, who bought the house last November.

As a marketing manager for a multinational company based in the city's Minhang district, Wang's salary is far higher than most, so the mortgage is not a major burden. His biggest concern is his daily three-hour commute to downtown.

The average house price in Shanghai hit 20,819 yuan per square meter in the first three months of this year, up 12.8 percent quarter on quarter.

"The only place you'll find apartments priced around 10,000 yuan per square meter in Shanghai is on the border, which is 30 km away from the center," said Xue Jianxiong, an analyst with China Real Estate Information Corp. "The infrastructure and facilities in these communities are not as good as those in downtown areas."

Apartments in traditional outskirts districts like Songjiang (which includes Jiuting), Fengxian and Nanhui are more than 10,000 yuan already, while prices in Jiading have risen to almost 20,000 yuan since a new subway station opened there recently.

However, with the city's average income of only 28,800 yuan last year, it means an average three-person family would have to save every penny they earn for 10 years just to buy a 50-square-meter apartment.

Gao Wuyanyan is relieved he decided to ditch his "wait-and-see attitude" last month. The 27-year-old ethnic Mongolian had been holding on for a price drop for two years before he rushed out to snap up an apartment in Dalian, a port city in Northeast China's Liaoning province.

He paid 9,900 yuan ($150) per square meter for his new home, which is in a development still under construction. If he had waited just 30 days more, it would have cost him 11,000.

"Two years ago, I was sure the price would begin to fall, but even now I don't think we've seen the peak," said Gao, who works in Dubai for China Communications Construction Co Ltd.