Could dwelling-hungry divorcées be just what our depressed real estate market needs?

It seems like a stretch, but people in need of fresh starts make up a larger part of home buyers than you might think. Up north, top Toronto condo marketer Brad Lamb estimates that sales due to couples splitting up represent about 25 percent of his business.

"I love the divorce market," Lamb tells Globe Media. "I would say that certainly a quarter of our business is attributed to the breakdown of the marriage — which we are encouraging should break down every three and a half years." He's joking about that last part.

"It's a fantastic part of the business," Scott Shallow, an agent with Brad J. Lamb Realty says of divorcées. "It's unfortunate, but it's certainly keeping things alive in the real estate market."

On the flip side, the high cost of real estate today might actually be keeping more couples together — for better or worse. "The stakes are higher," said poet and educator Miranda Pearson. "I know quite a few people who would break up if it weren't for the cost of real estate."

The intimate connection between real estate and divorce perfectly illustrates how marriages don't deteriorate in a vacuum. Unfortunately, once home, children, and career are factored into the equation, the quality of the actual relationship is sometimes the last consideration.