What stops women investing in property?

In an age of mass information, many Australian women are well aware of the financial benefits of property investment – so why does such a substantial gap persist?

For some women, socialisation plays a part.

“Many of the women I have previously spoken with had the financial ability to become property investors, but often would not proceed for a variety of reasons,” recalled Karen Lacheta-Pell, a Gold Coast-based buyer’s agent and founder of InvestHer, who noted that a lack of confidence sometimes plays a role.

Personal outlook may be one piece of the puzzle, but the systemic barriers that Australian women face are far more significant.

As the recent Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) data revealed, Australian women earn 21.7 per cent less than men.

In some Australian companies, the gap is as large as 73 per cent.

“Lower average earnings make it more difficult for some women to save a deposit for their own home, which can be used as a stepping stone to property investment,” Lacheta-Pell said.

“Saving additional funds for stamp duty is also made more challenging for women given they generally earn less than men,” she said.

In addition to income inequality, women navigating a relationship break-up also bear a significant financial burden.

At a Victorian parliamentary inquiry held last year, researchers found that divorced or separated women were far less likely to own a home than women in long-term relationships.

“Research presented at the inquiry found only 34 per cent of women who separated managed to own a home within five years and only 44 per cent within 10 years,” explained Lacheta-Pell.

“Divorced women were also three times more likely to rent at age 65 than married women, according to the inquiry,” she said.

A third major hurdle women face in their quest to become a property investor is mortgage servicing issues.

Lower wage-earnings and significant higher likelihood to take time away from the workforce for child-rearing means that women are more likely to struggle with a reliable income stream for mortgage repayments.

According to Lacheta-Pell, this does not mean that women should give up on their property investment dreams. She noted: “The fact that women often have periods of non-income earning years when they have children makes property investment even more vital for their financial future.”

Nevertheless, the ongoing barriers that women face in the property landscape require a bespoke approach.

“There are still far more individual male property investors than female in this country, and my aim is to try to remedy that imbalance to improve the financial positions of women,” Lacheta-Pell said.

“My goal is to help as many women as possible to become property investors.”