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Women and property investment
Investing in property is a rising priority for many Australian women today – trumping traditional priorities such as getting married and having children – according to the Westpac Home Ownership Report.
According to the report, 49 per cent of Australian women had listed owning a home as their top priority, while just 14 per cent prioritise having children and an even fewer 5 per cent prioritise getting married.
Rather than just highlighting shifting property attitudes in women, the report also revealed some interesting differences between the sexes: 87 per cent of women listed owning a home and paying it off in full as one of their top lifetime goals, compared to 79 per cent of men.
Property’s gender divide
It was also found that Gen Y women have a better understanding of the benefits of savings by focusing on repayments – 73 per cent of females listed paying off their loan sooner as the most important factor when taking out a new loan, in comparison to just 56 per cent of men believing the same.
So why the change in financial power for Australian women? According to an interview with Gai McGrath, Westpac’s general manager, there is a “cohort of young women who are very determined about getting a platform for financial security from a young age.”
McGrath also said that women are “getting [an] education, they are getting careers and they are taking charge of their financial future.”
Single women lead property charge
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 61 per cent of women own their own home, as opposed to 58 per cent of men. The gap further widens with 65 per cent of single female householders owning their home, compared with 55 per cent of single male households.
Whether they’re investing in property for personal or financial reasons, the figures show and the experts say that the number of women getting into the property investment industry will only rise and rise in the years to come.
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