Young women less likely to own a home: CoreLogic

CoreLogic has released its annual women and property report and found that 27.3 per cent of Gen Z women (aged 18–29) owned at least one residential dwelling, compared to 51.6 per cent of men in the same age group.

The report was released this morning on International Women’s Day (8 March), which celebrates the social, economic, and political achievements of women on a global scale. International Women’s Day also promotes ongoing discussions of gender inequality.

The research found that 61.4 per cent of Gen Z women said they could not buy a home due to not having enough savings for the upfront costs associated with buying a home (including the deposit, stamp duty, and other associated costs).

Only 25.1 per cent of Gen Z men noted this as the reason they did not buy a dwelling.

The report revealed that Gen Z women had an average salary of $67,800, versus $83,5000 for their male counterparts.

CoreLogic’s research also found that 32.9 per cent of Gen Z women worked part-time or casually, compared to 12.9 per cent of men.

According to the report, the dwelling ownership gap closed with age. Millennial women (aged 30–44) who owned at least one property increased to 72.5 per cent compared to 63.5 per cent for Millennial men.

This trend continued for Gen X as women who owned at least one dwelling continued to rise to 75.8 per cent compared to 69 per cent of men.

Eliza Owen, head of research at CoreLogic and author of the report, said: “Examining home ownership holistically unveils gender equity gaps, highlights generational risks, and underscores the critical role of residential real estate in wealth, retirement, and tenure stability.

“It prompts crucial questions about the accessibility of property ownership for women across generations and the challenges faced for early entry into the market.”

She did say, however, that it was reassuring to see the ownership gap even out over time between men and women.

Overall, 68.2 per cent of women owned a home, compared to 67.4 per cent of men. When asked how important home ownership was to men and women on a scale of one to 10, 49.2 per cent of women responded with a score of 10 compared to only 36.9 per cent of men.

Owen commented: “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.

“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.”

Investment properties were also more likely to be owned by men, according to the report, with 14 per cent of men owning a residential investment dwelling, compared to 12.5 per cent of women.

Owen stated that the difference was apparent in almost all asset classes in the report, with the largest disparity showing in shares. The research revealed that 42 per cent of men had investments in shares, compared to only 30.1 per cent of women.

Men were also more likely to invest in superannuation (67.3 per cent of men compared to 59.4 per cent of women) and cryptocurrencies (13.9 per cent of men versus 5.7 per cent of women).

Thirty-seven per cent of women said they did not have any asset investments, compared to 22.5 per cent of men.

Owen said: “This gap may be tied to differences in income between men and women, but it may also reflect differences in exposure to financial concepts through education…

“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.”