Mike Zhang considered himself serious boyfriend material. He knew what to order at an Italian restaurant. He could mix a tasty margarita and always volunteered to carry his girlfriend's handbag. Then came the deal breaker。

　　Zhang, a 28-year-old language tutor and interpreter, couldn't afford an apartment in the capital's scorching property market. Rather than waste any more time, his girlfriend of more than two years dumped him. Zhang's misfortune is not uncommon. China's housing boom has created a woefully frustrated class of bachelors。

　　Unlike in the United States, where home buying traditionally takes place after marriage, owning a place in China has recently become a prerequisite for tying the knot. Experts said securing an apartment in this market signals that a man is successful, family-oriented and able to weather challenging financial circumstances. Put succinctly, homeownership has become the ultimate symbol of virility in today's China。

　　Chen Xiaomin, director of the Women's Studies Center at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said:"Marriage is becoming more and more materialistic. No matter how confident a woman is, she will lose face if her boyfriend or husband doesn't have a house."

　　Dating websites are now awash with women stipulating that hopefuls must come with a residence in tow. "I'm 25 years old, looking for a boyfriend. I want you to have an apartment and a car. The apartment has to be built after 2000 and the car has to be better than a minivan," read one post on a popular Chinese Web portal。

　　Material matters weren't quite so important when previous generations courted. Most Chinese were poor. Property was controlled by the state. But economic reform and mass urbanization in the last 30 years have upended these norms. Young Chinese are coming of age at a time of exploding wealth and rising expectations for material success. In a survey last year, 73% of respondents said homeownership was a necessity for marriage. An almost equal percentage said they had difficulty buying an apartment。

　　Though more women are becoming career oriented, China remains stubbornly traditional. Males are expected to be breadwinners. Wang Haijun, a real estate agent on Beijing's east side, said he can always tell when a desperate bachelor walks into his office. "They're always the least rational buyers. They don't care how little money they have. They just want an apartment as soon as possible. They take on a mortgage with the longest terms and highest interest rates. But they have no choice. They have to get married. I feel sorry for them," said Wang。

　　美国《洛杉矶时报》6月21日文章：房产热潮成单身汉烦恼来源。 迈克•张(音)认为自己是块做男朋友的料，他知道在意大利餐厅点什么菜，懂得如何调出一杯好酒，主动帮女朋友拎包。但不容通融的问题还是来了。

　　这位28岁的老师兼翻译在北京火热的房地产市场上买不起房。于是，交往了两年多的女友决定不再浪费时间，离他而去。张所遭遇的这种不幸并不少见，中国房产热潮造就了一个失落的单身汉阶层。

　　与传统上婚后买房的美国不同，拥有住房近来成为在中国结婚的先决条件。拥有一套住房意味着男人成功、注重家庭，并能够经受财政问题的挑战。简单地说，住房已成为当今中国男人气概的终极象征。

　　上海政法学院女性研究中心主任陈晓敏说：“婚姻正在变得越来越现实。无论一个女性如何自信，如果她的男友或丈夫没住房，她就会丢面子。”

　　在约会网站上，大量女性都提出交往对象要有住房。中国某门户网站一个帖子这样写道：“本人25岁，觅男友，希望你有一套住房和一辆汽车。房子必须是2000年以后盖的，汽车必须要比小货车高档。”

　　在上一代人的婚姻中，物质条件没这么重要。大多数中国人都很穷，住房由国家控制。但过去30年的经济改革和大规模城市化颠覆了这些。年轻的中国人处于一个财富激增、对物质成功的期望不断攀升的时代。去年一次调查中，73%的受访者认为房子是结婚必需品，但也有相同比例的人说买不起房。

　　尽管越来越多的女性就业，中国仍保持着“男性养家糊口”的传统。北京的房产中介王海军(音)说，他总能分辨出走进来的单身汉，“他们通常是最不理智的买家，不关心自己有多少钱，只想尽快拥有一套住房，办的是期限最长、利率最高的贷款。但他们别无选择。他们得结婚。我感到非常非常遗憾。”