Second-hand housing transactions were called "Wen Zhang" in ancient times (it was called "Wen Tie" in the Yuan Dynasty).
There is a sentence written by Dongfang Shuo in "Yuke Series": "Between Fenghao, it is called earth paste, and its price is one gold per mu." This is talking about the most familiar land near Chang'an in the Han Dynasty. . The so-called Yijin in the Han Dynasty refers to a pound of gold, which is equivalent to about 10,000 copper coins, which is about four to five thousand yuan in today's money. One acre of land is more than 660 square meters, and the total cost is 780 yuan per square meter. There are many records confirming this price, such as "the ointment of Juetu is worth one gold per mu", "the ancestral farmland is worth one gold per mu". This was probably the price in the Han Dynasty.
In the Song Dynasty, real estate transactions became active. Not only can you buy it with money, but you can also exchange it for things. "Tieweishan Congtan" says that the calligrapher Mi Fu wanted to buy a big house in Danyang, Jiangnan, and he was looking for people everywhere. One of his buddies was thinking about a treasure in Mi Fu's hands. What is it? An inkstone. This inkstone is called Yanshan. It originally belonged to Empress Li. It is more than a foot long. There are thirty-six "peaks" as thick as a finger in front. There are slopes on both sides and a research pond in the middle. It is a good treasure anyway. So, this person helped Mi Fu to search around, and finally found an ancient tomb next to the river under Ganlu Temple. It was said to be the residence of people in the Jin and Tang Dynasties. It had a beautiful scenery with mountains behind it and a river, and there were many towering ancient trees. After that, a dinner party was held, and everyone ate and drank together. Mi Fu exchanged the inkstone for the land, and later built a big house here and named it "Haiyu'an".