These distorted marriage values reflect the fact that many women consider marriage another form of "social welfare".
Things may be different overseas. Realty has always been an issue for people in Europe, but governments there have come up with a series of tough measures to regulate property markets in order to deal with the problem properly and maintain sustainable societies, such as collecting property taxes: Owners, buyers and renters are all required to pay annual taxes.
In addition, social housing, similar to China's affordable housing, provided by European authorities as welfare for low- and middle-income groups, offer the less well-off their own piece of real estate. Such housing is usually modest-size apartments in tall buildings with 10 or more floors on the outskirts of town, whose main advantage is the low rents.
For many Americans, houses don't pose an obstacle to getting married. They often buy a house after the wedding, because more and more people are reconsidering their real estate worship, and going back to a more rational mode of consumption.
In Japan, renting is the custom for newly married young couples. Few young couples can afford to purchase property. Up to 67.1 percent of young couples choose to rent. Generally speaking, renters account for most people younger than 40 in Japan.
Young people should be free to enjoy being young, without the huge pressure of trying to buy property. Society should help create an environment for them to grow up. Don't let the poor bachelor group become a suffering layer of our society.
The author is a reporter with China Daily website.