Tamaryn McGregor
12th October 2022
In 2016 we wrote a story on ‘6 Reasons Why Women Are Better With Money Than Men’.
As we reflect on the time since 2016, we’ve seen a global pandemic, Donald Trump become president, legislation passed to allow same sex marriage in Australia, the royal wedding of Harry and Megan, the #metoo movement and Brexit - it is pretty clear that a lot can change within four years.
We wanted to take a look to see what (if anything) has changed when it comes to the financial battle of the sexes.
Do women still buy more property than single men?
Yes, they do. Financial security is still appearing towards the top of the list of goals for most women and as a result of this, women are looking to home ownership to provide this security.
In 2018 young single women weren’t waiting around for Mr Right when it came to buying their first home. Westpac’s 2018 Annual Home Ownership report showed that women are taking the lead in home ownership and investment property purchase. 28% of women are purchasing a home to live in versus 20% of men.
In 2019, The Sydney Morning Herald uncovered national figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing that 60 percent of Australian women own their home either with a mortgage or debt-free, compared with 56 percent of men.
Do women still care about paying off a home loan more than men do?
Yes, they do. It appears that the way women view and value home ownership has dramatically shifted over the past few years. There has been a great increase in the number of female first home buyers who feel that ‘owning your own home is a reflection of your success in life’ and that ‘property is the pathway to wealth’.
In a 2019 article by the Sydney Morning Herald around the characteristics of different gender’s home ownership, it explained how women tend to pay off their mortgages earlier than men, with home ownership rates for women up to 65% higher. National figures in November of 2019 from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal that women are more likely to own their own home with 58.6% females compared with 55.5% males. But why is this?
Are women more careful with money and more likely to have savings for a rainy day?
In 2016, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, around 40% of women had emergency savings, compared to 25% of men, which suggested females were more savvy savers, and more careful with their money than men.
However in 2019, an article from the Sydney Morning Herald on the retirement savings gap explained new research which shows that men have retirement savings worth 42% more than women.
Perhaps this is as a result of the current gender pay gap which sees women currently retiring with an average of $90,000 less than men.
Do women tend to be better investors?
In Westpac’s 2018 Home Ownership report, it stated that more women have recently bought an investment property with 16% of women versus 13% of men. This report has also revealed that women are twice as likely to consider investing in the next five years than men. Women are considering property investment more so than men, in preparation for potential financial hurdles that present themselves in the future. Whether this be maternity leave or taking time off to care for relatives. This may also be an avenue for women to gain long term financial security and increased retirement savings.
So fellas, with this growing body of evidence against you, it’s time to up your game.
Why not start by considering refinancing your home loan or considering if a property investment is right for you?
To see if you could be saving by refinancing, use loanScore. It takes 2 minutes, and you do not need to wait another 4 years to see results!
Or why not see how cash out refinance could help you on your journey to becoming the next big investment property tycoon.
