Chinese women value housing more than men

China's young urban woman pays more attention to housing in a marriage than does her male counterpart, according to a survey regarding the younger generation's attitude towards marriage by Nankai University.

The report, targeting 335 university students between 19 and 25 years old, shows that 53.2% of the females believe accommodation is very important in a marriage, whereas this ratio stands at 46.8% for the men.

At the same time, men score higher than women on the so-called topic of "your housing doesn't hijack your marriage." According to the survey, they do not expect real estate to become an obstacle in a marriage.

Dai Tianwei, a student who participated in the survey, explained that as the issue of housing has now become more important in a marriage than ever before, its impact is correspondingly larger.

But it is not merely the issue of housing that forms a concern to the younger generation. The questionnaire asked each participant to answer the question of what are the top three factors they value in a marriage. It turns out these three essentials are love, personality and quality of life.

In addition, girls prefer men to carry the responsibilities and possess a strong sense of self-motivation; whereas the guys like to see a girl being loyal to family life.

"It's tradition for women to expect men to carry the overall responsibility, whereas a man prefers his future wife to take care of the family and its elderly," said Huang Meizi, a member of the research group.

"Through our survey, we hope to help young people get the right attitude towards marriage and we want them hold less prejudice towards housing or other material issues," said Zhao Huixin, who is in charge of this research.

The survey, launched by the Zhou Enlai School of Government at Nankai University, interviewed students in Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu and Guangzhou.