Even those who know little about China have heard of its policy limiting most couples to one child. The 1980 law in the world’ s most populous country was originally intended to tame fears that a surging population would suck up resources and hurt growth. Birthrates plunged to 1. 64 children per woman in 2011 from 4. 77 in the 1970s, but the policy has led to countless troublesome consequences over the years, including forced sterilizations and abortions and a shortage of women in a country that overwhelmingly prefers boys over girls.

A few days ago, leaders pledged to relax the one-child policy, allowing couples to have two children if one parent is an only child. Currently, couples are restricted to one child unless both parents are only children and rural families are allowed to do so if their first child is a girl. The policy change comes as China seeks to address a looming shortage of workers in the face of a rapidly aging population. Such demographic changes could also ripple across an unexpected part of China’ s economy—its booming housing market.

Property prices have spiked dramatically, making it unaffordable for many Chinese to buy. And studies have found that the rapid rise of China’ s home prices is linked to its widening gender imbalance. Because there are many more men than women ( a ratio of 1. 15 men of marriage age of 15 to 30 years old for every woman) , China’ s dating scene has become ultra-competitive.