“ FINALLY , AFTER DECADES , THE GENDER GAP IN PROPERTY OWNERSHIP HAS BEEN STEADILY CLOSING IN RECENT YEARS , WITH WOMEN TAKING ON MORE PROMINENT ROLES IN THE GLOBAL REAL ESTATE MARKET AND ALTHOUGH SOUTH AFRICA IS ONLY NOW CATCHING UP , THEY HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT INROADS SINCE 2012 WHEN WOMEN ACCOUNTED FOR 47 % OF BOND APPLICATIONS ,” SAYS YAEL GEFFEN , CEO OF LEW GEFFEN SOTHEBY ’ S INTERNATIONAL REALTY . “ ACCORDING TO OOBA THE FIRST-TIME BUYER TREND STARTED TO REALLY SHIFT IN 2018 , WITH WOMEN NOW ACCOUNTING FOR 53.7 % OF BUYERS .” THESE FIGURES COMPARE WELL GLOBALLY WHEN ONCE CONSIDERS THAT IN THE UNITED STATES , A 2020 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS ( NAR ) REPORT REVEALED THAT WOMEN MAKE UP 65 % OF ALL HOME BUYERS BUT IN THE UK , WOMEN ACCOUNTED FOR APPROXIMATELY 37 % OF ALL RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY PURCHASES IN THE SAME YEAR . INTERESTINGLY , IN SOUTH AFRICA , WOMEN ARE NOW ALSO BUYING PROPERTY SOONER THAN THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS . “ THE PREVIOUS AVERAGE BUYING AGE OF 34 HAS SHIFTED UP BY THREE YEARS FOR MEN BUT ONLY BY ONE YEAR FOR WOMEN ,” SAYS GEFFEN . “ ANOTHER INTERESTING FACT IS THAT UNTIL RECENTLY , AROUND 60 % OF FEMALE FIRST-TIME BUYERS WERE PURCHASING FREESTANDING HOMES BUT THIS HAS BEGUN TO SHIFT AND MORE ARE NOW BEGINNING TO BUY SECTIONAL TITLE UNITS . “ THIS IS PARTLY DUE TO AFFORDABILITY IN TIMES OF HIGH INTEREST RATES AND A SPIRALLING COST OF LIVING BUT IT ’ S ALSO BECAUSE SECTIONAL TITLE HOMES GENERALLY OFFER BETTER SECURITY . “ AND , AS THE GENDER GAP IN PROPERTY OWNERSHIP CONTINUES TO SHIFT , WHAT ’ S ALSO BECOMING CLEAR IS THAT WOMEN ARE NOT JUST HOME BUYERS BUT ALSO SAVVY INVESTORS WHO UNDERSTAND THE LONG-TERM BENEFITS OF REAL ESTATE AS AN ASSET CLASS ,” GEFFEN SAYS THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL FACTORS THAT ARE DRIVING WOMEN ' S GROWING INTEREST IN PROPERTY INVESTMENT : FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE : WOMEN ARE INCREASINGLY FOCUSED ON FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE AND SECURITY . OWNING PROPERTY IS SEEN AS A LONG-TERM INVESTMENT THAT CAN PROVIDE FINANCIAL STABILITY AND A SENSE OF ACCOMPLISHMENT . CHANGING SOCIAL NORMS : CHANGING SOCIETAL NORMS AND A GREATER ACCEPTANCE OF DIVERSE FAMILY STRUCTURES HAVE EMPOWERED WOMEN TO TAKE ON A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN PROPERTY OWNERSHIP . INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES : REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN TO GROW THEIR WEALTH OVER TIME . MANY SEE PROPERTY INVESTMENT AS A MORE STABLE AND PROFITABLE ALTERNATIVE TO OTHER INVESTMENT VEHICLES . FAMILY PLANNING : OWNING PROPERTY CAN BE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN FAMILY PLANNING . IT PROVIDES A STABLE HOME ENVIRONMENT FOR RAISING CHILDREN AND FUTURE FINANCIAL SECURITY . CREATING GENERATIONAL WEALTH : WOMEN ARE BEGINNING TO TAKE CHARGE OF LONG-TERM PLANNING WHICH INCLUDES THE FUTURE FINANCIAL WELLBEING OF THEIR CHILDREN .
“ BUYING REAL ESTATE IS NOT ONLY THE BEST WAY , THE QUICKEST WAY , THE SAFEST WAY , BUT THE ONLY WAY TO BECOME WEALTHY .”.