CoreLogic’s 2021 Women and Property: State of Play report, released on International Women’s Day, shows the relationship between the gender pay gap and the gender wealth gap and demonstrates the difference in property ownership by gender across Australia and New Zealand.
72.6% of New Zealand properties were analysed by gender ownership for this in-depth report. Milena Malev, CoreLogic International’s GM Financial Services & Insurance Solutions, says: “There has been a lot of emphasis on understanding the access to wealth and earnings for women, but much of this has focused on income from wages, salaries and wealth accumulation in superannuation. Using CoreLogic’s extensive property data universe, we sought to understand rates of female property ownership.’
Predictably, the report revealed that most homes in both Australia and New Zealand are owned simultaneously by two people and most of them are a male + a female couple (56.8% of properties in New Zealand). House ownership is far more attainable with two incomes.
But among the houses owned by one person, only 20.3% of the properties analysed across New Zealand are owned by women. The percentage is a bit higher in Australia but it’s still only 26.2%. At the regional level, Auckland had the highest share of female-only property ownership, at 23.7%. Bay of Plenty placed 6th among New Zealand regions – with 19.4% of houses owned solely by women.
The researchers blame gender pay gap for this situation. In Australia, for example, it would take women an additional 10 months to save for a 20% deposit compared to men. The official gender pay gap in New Zealand is lower than in Australia – 9.5% in New Zealand to Australian 13.4% – but it still exists and affects women’s chances to own a property.
Additionally, the location defines salary and real estate opportunities for women. In rural areas or smaller communities, where the highest-earning positions are typically more male-dominated, it’s essential for everyone, regardless of gender, to learn about property investment to increase the percentage of female property ownership and promote greater financial diversity.
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At the same time, women dominate the lone households market. Women make up over 60% of either single-parent or lone adult households which leads to possible future problems with retirement poverty. If you still have rental or mortgage costs when you retire, then you have a much higher incidence of falling into poverty.
‘The core of our findings come back to income. The areas where women have higher rates of property ownership, also generally have higher median household incomes. This reinforces the view that women can actually have a higher propensity to buy property than men, therefore women with higher incomes have more success,’ says Eliza Owen, CoreLogic’s Head of Research and author of the report.
