Staff Writer
As we celebrate Woman’s Month, BetterBond takes a closer look at property ownership, and the results are good news, especially for single women.
The data doesn’t lie
- In the decade 2010-2020, bond approvals for women in SA increased from 14% to 41%, with 60% from single women
- Between 2015 and 2020, more women bought property on their own than men or married couples
- At least 60% of SA’s residential housing stock is owned by single women (Lightstone)
- Women are waiting longer to get married, with the median age of marriage for women increasing from 29 in 2011 to 32 in 2023 (Stats SA)
- 42.1% of South African households are headed by a woman
- ± 7.5 million women are the main income earners in their families
How does this compare to the US and UK
In terms of property, the US and UK markets are often used as indicators of future, local trends so let’s see what is happening in the US:
- 87% of women believe they don’t need to be married to own their own home (Bank of America)
- 65% of single women would rather invest in property while they’re single, than wait for a partner
- 45% of women aged 25 to 44 will be single by 2030 (Morgan Stanley)
- Since 1981, single women have outpaced single men as homebuyers (National Association of Realtors)
- In 2022, there were nearly double as many single women (17%) homebuyers than single men (9%)
- Sex and the City writer Jenny Bicksgot 22,000 likes for this tweet: ’24 years ago I wrote an episode where Miranda is shamed for buying an apartment as a single woman. Now single women outnumber single men as homeowners.’
And in the UK:
- 33% of mortgaged owner-occupiers are women (Savills)
- Mortgage applications with primary or sole female applicants increased from 29% in 2017 to 33% in 2021 (Habito)
- Only 2.8% growth in female mortgage holders over the past decade (Habito)
- In England, women need an average of 12 times their annual salary to be able to buy a home, while men need just over 8 times (Habito)
It would seem that property is increasingly becoming a woman’s game – something agents would do well to bear in mind when planning marketing campaigns.
