The starting price of the land at the auction wasn't actually high. If no one bids against it, getting the land at the starting price would be no different from buying it for pennies.
In fact, at today's land auctions, although the starting prices are considerably higher than in 2008, they're still not very high.
The problem is that the market conditions now are nothing like they were back in 2008. At every land auction, major real estate developers aggressively bid against each other, and the final transaction prices often end up being several times, even dozens of times the starting price.
Trying to get a piece of land at the starting price is simply a pipe dream; it's just not going to happen.
This is also why Zhuo Weidong and Ou Xiaolong hope to get a slice of the pie from Yi Anguo and take away a few pieces of land.
