Login
iscover
New research shows the greatest gender disparity in home ownership occurs between Gen Z men and women.
According to CoreLogic, while home ownership appears to even out between genders over time, it’s in the early years of adulthood that inequality in home ownership is most prevalent.
CoreLogic’s 2024 Women & Property report, which surveyed home ownership status and motivations, barriers and attitudes towards dwelling ownership among women and men in Australia, revealed that more than half (51.6 per cent) of Gen Z males own a dwelling, compared to just over one quarter of their female counterparts (27.3 per cent).
When comparing salaries between the two cohorts, it’s easy to see that finances play at least some part in the discrepancy. CoreLogic reported Gen Z women overall have lower levels of income – earning $67.8000 on average, compared to men, who sit at $83.500 per year before tax – and are more likely to be employed in part-time or casual work.
But it’s also clear that relationship dynamics play a part in women’s home ownership.
Women are more likely to own residential property with someone else (53.3 per cent, compared to 51.9 per cent for males), while men have a higher rate of sole ownership (51.9 per cent, compared to 50.2 per cent for females).
And among women, dwelling ownership increases quite rapidly with age. The portion of Millennial women in the age bracket of 30 to 44 who own at least one dwelling increases to 72.5 per cent, versus 63.5 per cent for men. Among Gen X that’s 75.8 per cent for women and 69 per cent for men, while Baby Boomers have the smallest gap in ownership at 83.3 per cent for women and 84.5 per cent for men.
CoreLogic head of research and report author Eliza Owen said the data should prompt some “crucial questions about the accessibility of property ownership for women across generations and the challenges faced for early entry into the market”.
While she noted it was reassuring to see female home ownership figures rise with age, she said that the early adulthood disparities exposed some larger issues at play for women when it comes to owning property.
“Presumably the gender-based home ownership gap closes in part due to the formation of couples and family households, so while the pay gap between men and women becomes less important for mixed-gender couples, it may pose potential risks during relationship breakdowns,” she remarked.
“Further, if men can attain dwelling ownership at a younger age, they are likely to benefit from greater levels of capital growth from the asset class over the long term,” Owen noted.
Pointing to investor figures, she added that part of the problem might be tied to cultural and educational practices separating males and females from a young age.
With 14.1 per cent of men reporting they own at least one residential investment property compared to 12.5 per cent of women, Owen said the gap is likely tied not only to differences in income, but also “exposure to financial concepts through education”.
Noting that the gap extended to almost every asset class, she suggested that “greater intervention at the high school and university level to familiarise young females with concepts of economics, finance and investment may help to bridge the investment gap, not just across property, but a range of asset classes”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
You are not authorised to post comments.
Comments will undergo moderation before they get published.