Although one of China's so-called second-tier cities, the average house price in Dalian rose to 10,134 yuan per square meter in March, up 19 percent year on year, according to real-estate consultants Dalian Compass Plan and Marketing Co Ltd.

"I think the price will keep on rising, too," said Yuan Xiaoji, one of the company's analysts. "Young couples always try their best to buy a home for marriage, big or small."

Getting a mortgage is no problem for those people earning high salaries. However, the city's annual income was 19,093 yuan last year, according to the Dalian bureau of statistics, and analysts say it is common for parents to spend their life savings to buy homes for children earning low incomes.

"A monthly mortgage would lower the quality of my life but what can I do? Girls won't marry you if you don't have a house," said Lu Cheng, a 25-year-old neighbor of Gao.

It is now almost impossible to find a home for less than 10,000 yuan per square meter within a 20-km radius of Dalian's downtown, said Yuan.

"It will be very inconvenient to live in that apartment," said Gao, whose new area has few public facilities or bus services. "However, things will get better. At least a metro under construction will go up there."

As Xu Kailiang looked up at his 95-square-meter apartment from the street outside, his face broke into a wide grin. "My family paid 600,000 yuan ($88,000) for this property last June. Now it's worth 1 million," he said proudly.

The only problem is that the property is in the Laoshan district, which is more than an hour's drive from the downtown area of Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong province.

"Generally speaking, I'm satisfied. The house has three rooms and a hall, and is in a decent residential environment that has plenty of amenities. Sadly, it is far away from the city center," said Xu, a salesman for a State-owned company.

With a shrug, he added: "Although it's inconvenient, I would rather live here. The houses in the center are too expensive. It is impossible for common people to afford them."

Qingdao saw its average house price rise by 8.1 percent year on year in March, with prices in the city's costal areas ranging from 30,000 to 60,000 yuan per square meter, according to official figures. Property in or near the center usually fetches about 25,000 yuan per square meter.

However, the average monthly wage is just 2,116 yuan.

"My house was bought by my parents for me before I get married in May. Although my fiancee and I earn more than 5,000 yuan a month, we can't afford the house by ourselves, so I'm very grateful to my parents," said Xu. "Many young couples have to rent to get married."

After searching for weeks to find a bigger apartment for his wife and their child, Yang Yaolong eventually settled on Luoxi New Town, which lies on the banks of the Pearl River.

As the area boasts good transport links and a large supermarket, the three-bedroom apartment seemed an excellent value for 8,000 yuan ($1,200) per square meter. The only problem was it was 10 km from his workplace in the heart of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

"The environment of my housing estate is good and the air is fresh but it is far away from the downtown area," said Yang, 33, who works for China Mobile. "I usually have to spend more than an hour to get to my office most mornings."

Since Yang bought the house, prices in Luoxi - part of the city's Panyu district - have risen to more than 10,000 yuan per square meter, meaning his property is now worth a cool 1 million yuan.

Yang and his 30-year-old wife, Zhang Wenping, are now considering selling up and moving downtown as his residential area does not have a good primary school for their son.

"My son is 3 and I want him to go to a quality primary school when he is 6," said Yang, adding that, compared with mature communities downtown, many outlying suburban areas lack good schools and major hospitals.