WOMEN are holding the keys when it comes real estate these days.
On the home front, they are increasingly the key decision maker in property transactions.
Census figures show women are leaving their male peers behind in home ownership.
Most professionals in the industry are men, but the number of women is growing and so is the range of positions they occupy.
Realestate has taken a closer look at the ways women are being catered to in the market.
LADY’S CHOICE
In a recent survey of 25 leading Australian real estate firm directors and chief executives, women were unanimously named as having “the greatest say in the choice of property”.
The Ideas Exchange survey included thoughts from Harcourts Victoria CEO Sadhana Smiles, who told Realestate women were the ones in control during property negotiations.
“Women are the key decision makers, and all research proves that at the end of the day in probably 90 per cent of cases the female is the key decision maker,” she said.
Ms Smiles also noted that while men and women looked at property differently, women had the edge when looking for a home to live in.
“Men and women don’t look at homes from the same perspective,” Ms Smiles said.
“Women look at the more emotional, lifestyle side of things — (and for) a home to live in. There’s an emotional part of it that plays a much bigger role.”
The sentiment was echoed by Karen Vogl, from Hocking Stuart in Ringwood, who was named the 2013 Australian Real Estate Conference’s top performing female real estate agent in the country.
“Whether it relates to location choice, pricing decisions or the type of home, women generally have the last say,” Ms Vogl said.
“From a selling perspective, the woman is generally the sole decision maker and I find it very rare that the male partner gets too involved.”
The latter, however, typically relates more to women dealing more closely with house presentation and preparations for inspections, according to Ms Vogl.
FORGET DIAMONDS
The financial security that property offers is also increasingly well understood by women.
Census data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows more women (61 per cent) than men (58 per cent) own their own home.
And the gap widens among sole home owners with 65 per cent of single female householders owning their home, compared with 55 per cent of single male households.
The stats also show women trump men when it comes to doing away with the mortgage, with 48 per cent of single female households doing so compared with just 31 per cent of single male households.
It’s a trend Ms Vogl has seen grow.
“In the past 10 years, I have seen a significant increase in the amount of women (young and older) buying property on their own,” she said.
“They understand the importance of getting into the market and use it as a strong foundation for their future.”
CLIMBING THE LADDER
From 2006 to 2011, the number of women in sales in real estate rose from 42 per cent to 43 per cent, according to Census figures.
Women are also moving into more prominent roles, Real Estate Institute of Victoria spokesman Robert Larocca says.
“(And) we are starting to see some more female auctioneers,” he said.
Ms Smiles also noted increasing numbers and said many were coming from people-oriented careers in teaching or nursing.
“It’s an industry that should attract more women because it is flexible, has the opportunity to run your own business and women can be great negotiators. It allows women to have a career based on the hours they need to work.”
Ms Vogl sums it up a little differently.
“I believe women in real estate have so much to offer their clients,” she said. Not any better or worse than my male counterparts, just different, which I have found many people respond to.”
Original article published at www.news.com.au by Nathan Mawby Herald Sun 17/6/2013