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- According to CoreLogic’s 2022 Women & Property report for Australia and New Zealand, women continue to have a lower total percentage of property ownership than males, possibly putting them at a disadvantage from recent real estate wealth advances
- In Australia in January 2022, 26.6 per cent of residential property was owned by women, compared to 29.9 per cent by men
- Males own 28.5 per cent of all houses examined, compared to women’s share of 24 per cent
- Men possess 36.4 per cent of the total investment properties examined, while women hold 29.1 per cent
Rising house values as a result of low borrowing rates, constrained supply and high buyer demand may have expanded the gender wealth gap between those who own homes and those who don’t.
According to CoreLogic’s 2022 Women & Property report for Australia and New Zealand, women continue to have a lower total percentage of property ownership than males, possibly putting them at a disadvantage from recent real estate wealth advances.
The report showed 26.6 per cent of residential property was owned by women, compared to 29.9 per cent by men, in Australia in January 2022.
CoreLogic estimates the entire value of Australia’s home market increased from just over $7 trillion to $9.7 trillion in the year to January, with dwelling values climbing 22.4 per cent, or $130,000 at the median value level, during the same time.
Property price hikes, according to CoreLogic International’s GM Financial Services & Insurance Solutions Milena Malev, may have worsened the gender wealth disparity in property ownership.
“Given there’s a high level of equity held in real estate, if you don’t own property, that’s a big source of household wealth and security you don’t have access to,” she said.
“Property price growth has also vastly outpaced income growth over this time, with the gender pay gap widening in parallel, too.”
According to ABS statistics, the gender pay difference in full-time ordinary earnings increased from 13.4 per cent in November 2020 to 13.8 per cent in November 2021, implying that males can potentially amass the funds for a house deposit faster than women.
“The current discrepancy in incomes between men and women would see men save a 20 per cent deposit for the current median dwelling value around a year faster than women,” Ms Malev said.
“That means men are not only accumulating greater wealth from a higher proportion of existing property ownership, but they’re also able to get into the market sooner than women and start that wealth accumulation in a growth market.”
According to CoreLogic’s 2022 Women & Property Report, males own 28.5 per cent of all houses examined, compared to women’s share of 24 per cent, while women have a greater frequency of unit ownership at 35.2 per cent, compared to men’s 34.7 per cent share.
Men possess 36.4 per cent of the total investment properties examined, while women hold 29.1 per cent. The difference equated to nearly 105,500 more investment properties held by males in Australia than by women.
Co-author of The Female Investor – Creating Wealth, Security, and Freedom through property Nicola McDougall said the research highlighted the increasing disparity between wealth outcomes for men and women.
“As is mentioned in the report, given that most people’s wealth is tied up in their homes, this means that if you don’t own a property – or have to purchase a unit rather than a house due to affordability reasons – then you will forever be on the back foot financially,” she said.
