SHANGHAI, CHINA (Reuters) - This piece of land in Shanghai may not be much to look at, but it's worth at least $12,000 per sq m.

It's near the subway and shopping malls, and is a property investor's dream.

They want to demolish these homes to build high-rise apartments, which could rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The only thing stopping them? Residents like Jiang Zhengxiang.

The 62-year-old refuses to accept a developer's offer - a third of the land's worth.

"You give me $4000 per sq m, think of it, are you kidding? Who will agree? Who's calculating the discount? You are kidding the common people. You are lying to people. How $4000 was decided, we have no idea," said Jiang.

Residents have accused the local government of trying to force them out.

The stakes will only get higher - property prices are rising 25 per cent year-on-year.