Are high house prices in China hurting women more than men?

ACCORDING to Chinese popular belief, if a man and his family cannot buy property he will struggle to find a bride. Three-quarters of women consider a man's ability to provide a home when choosing a husband, according to a recent survey of young people in China’s coastal cities by Horizon China, a Beijing-based market-research firm. Some economists argue that this competition for brides in China’s marriage market helps explain the punishingly high prices in its property market. Houses are least affordable in those parts of China where men most outnumber women, argue Shang-jin Wei of Columbia University, Xiaobo Zhang of the International Food Policy Research Institute and Yin Liu of Tsinghua University. Men (and their families) splash out on property to improve their position in the marriage queue, but that merely forces other men to spend more in response. The burden of home-buying thus falls heavily on unmarried men. But it is no longer confined to them. According to Horizon China, women and their families now contribute to their partner’s home purchases in 70% of cases, yet only 30% of married women add their name to the property's title deed. Often a couple’s finances are arranged so that the husband can take all the pride of owning the home, even if, in reality, his wife is jointly supporting the household. In China, macho posturing is another bubble that has yet to burst. See full article.