Chinese divorce their way to dream home

Happily married couples have been rushing to get divorced in Shanghai. Why?

Rumours had spread the local Government was planning to close a loophole that many families use to buy more property – divorce.

Currently, a family buying a second home is required to put a down payment of up to 70 percent. A first-time buyer only needs to put up 30 per cent.

News the Government was extending this penalty to those recently divorced prompted hundreds of couples eager to sever ties – on paper at least – to line up at the city’s Divorce Registration Offices.

The things we do for love?

House prices have boomed in China in recent years, hitting their highest level in six years in August, with Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai now ranked among the most expensive cities in the world.

But was it all in vain? The Government has now announced there will be no changes to the property regulations.

Those who signed divorce papers say not – rather, they argue it’s a ‘true test’ of love’. Hu Xingdou, a professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology has a different opinion:

“Society has a tendency to worship money, and some people use all means to accumulate wealth, even at the cost of their families,” he told the Global Times.