The price of DDR5 is now being used to measure housing costs in Shanghai.

DDR5 Prices Now Used to Measure Shanghai Housing Costs

Prices for DDR5 memory on the spot market have reached incredible levels due to a severe shortage caused by the boom in the artificial intelligence sector. A vivid illustration of the situation is a report by the Chinese publication Jiemian, which states that a 256 GB DDR5 module in China is selling for about 49,999 yuan (approximately $5,700 USD).

Notably, according to current estimates, the cost of just 100 such modules is comparable to the price of an apartment in Shanghai.

Even standard capacity modules—16 GB and 32 GB—have become largely inaccessible to ordinary PC users. This is because leading manufacturers such as Samsung and SK Hynix are reorienting their production capacities towards manufacturing more profitable and in-demand products for the AI segment, including HBM (High Bandwidth Memory). For the consumer market, an extremely limited volume of supplies remains.

Earlier, analysts predicted a price increase for DRAM of up to 50% in the current quarter. This trend is expected to continue throughout the year, which could lead to further price increases not only for PC components but also for final consumer electronics, including smartphones.