From Property, page 38, issue no. 341, November 12, 2007
Translated by Zuo Maohong
Original article: [Chinese]

It never occurred to Li Wei (a pseudonym) that an apartment would come between her and the man she loved. "A man who completely obeys his parents just can't bring his wife a bright future," she says, still fuming over the breakup.

To prepare for the marriage of Sun Da (a pseudonym) and his fiancée, Sun's parents spent every penny they had saved to buy them a big apartment. As members of the post-1980 generation, Sun and Li make very little, and thus could contribute only partially to their future home.

As a result, they also relinquished the right to control their lifestyle. Among most families today, home ownership has become a decisive factor in family authority. Now, purchasing a house means more than a signature.

According to statistics from Homelink, a housing agency, 30 percent of its home purchasers were born after 1980. That figure is 20 percent for 5I5J, another housing agency. With humble savings, the post-1980 generation, backed by their parents, boldly joined in the rush for homes at a time of inflation spikes. "A typical scene of young people buying their homes involves the young couple being followed by two old men and two old women. In effect, six salary earners from three families will be paying for that home," says Professor Sun Liping of Tsinghua University.

Bound to the Parents

Sun Da and Li Wei, both from a city in the south, once worked in Beijing. The two decided to settle down in their hometown later as the living cost in Beijing was beyond their means.

In early 2005, Sun's parents sold the apartment they had originally lived in, and bought a bigger one at 130 square meters with the 300,000 yuan they made from the sale combined with their life savings.

Financially supported by the old couple, the young somehow lost their rights to choose their own future way of life.

Every detail from selecting to decoration was controlled by Sun's parents, without the consultation of the children. Before Sun and Li had even left Beijing, the new house was bought, decorated, and being lived in.

Li, like most people at her age, didn't want to live with either her parents or parents-in-law after marriage for fear of the two generation's different lifestyles. But with all of their money spent already, everything was set in stone.

This September, Sun's parents sold the apartment at over 700,000 yuan, and bought a smaller apartment for themselves at 500,000 yuan, with the rest set aside to support their son's purchase of his own home.  But the trouble from the first time around and the experience over the previous year had pushed the couple over the edge, and they  broke up before the new apartment was bought.

The story of Liu Bing (a pseudonym) is a happier one.

Born in 1981, Liu works in a well known communication equipment company in Beijing. In 2006, he bought an apartment in full payment up front and became a rare example among his friends. But all the money was provided by his family.

Liu was lucky enough to be free from the anxiety of repaying loans which plagues most young home owners. But the money for his new home didn’t come easy either.

To buy a home for their only son, Liu's parents not only took out all their savings, but borrowed from their richer relatives.

"We’ll take care of the debt for them," Liu and his girlfriend claim. To take the debt on their shoulders seems to have made them less guilty about the situation. Both earning good money at the moment, they say they plan to buy an apartment for their parents in Beijing when they're better off.

Both backed by their parents, the two couples lead completely different lives. From this, we realize that the foundation of a young family is its own economic independence, not their parents'.

So what if you don't come from a rich family? Many of Liu and Sun's age have already begun to bear the financial burdens themselves.

An Idle Home

Not all of the post-1980 generation rely on their parents. Liu Hu is an example.

Born in 1980, Liu Hu works in a power company in the south, with an above-average salary. In 2005, he bought an apartment with five rooms in his hometown. Without a well-off family to fall back on, he managed to meet the down payment mostly on his own. Now he's repaying the loan in monthly payments of 1,700 yuan over a 20-year term.

But although the apartment has been available for some time, he has yet to move in.

As Liu Hu's mother has made clear, she would like to live with her only son after his marriage for the convenience of taking care of him. In the hope of having their own space, Liu Hu and his fiancée choose to not move in the new home but live in a rented apartment. With them not moving into the new apartment and the parents staying in their old one, the new apartment remains vacant.

"We haven't decorated it yet. If it  gets to that point, we might rent it out one day," Liu says, adding that he may end up buying a new apartment for his parents.