Do Rising Housing Prices Delay the Age at First Marriage?An Empirical Analysis Based on CGSS Data

“Housing prices” and “marriage” are hotly debated livelihood issues. This paper constructs a theoretical model of marriage decisions to examine the impact of housing prices on marriage rates, and explores the impact of rising housing prices on the age at first marriage of residents based on the data from Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS). The results show that the average age at first marriage increases by 1.108 years when the housing price rises. As for the delay effect of rising housing prices on the age at first marriage, the paper finds that it is greater on women than on men, greater on the residents in urban areas than on those in rural areas, and greater on the residents in less developed areas than on those in developed areas. In addition, family economic level has a significant negative effect on the age at first marriage of rural men, and individual education level has a significant negative effect on the age at first marriage of residents in less developed areas.