Women are the top property buyers in South Africa

Most people would assume due to the gender pay gap, that men would be the top buyers in the property market in South Africa. However, this is incorrect, as women are reshaping the buyer's market. Women are the top property buyers, with single women being a large percentage of that. Lightstone data released this month showed that over the past five years, single female first-time property buyers have outnumbered males, and married couples.

There has been a steady increase in women buying residential property, with 60% of bond applications from BetterBond, being women. Sectional titles are rising in popularity, as this is a favourite among the young, single women demographic. There are many factors that has contributed to rise in female buyers. The no transfer duty costs were raised to R1 million earlier this year, making the price range more attractive to buyers, particularly first-time buyers. This has led to more females ready to take the plunge as the data has shown that the R930,000 to R1,000,000 price range is the most attractive to them.

With the lowest repo rates in decades, the market remains a buyer's one at 3.5 %. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic the property market has grown. This still makes property one of the more stable sectors to invest in. Therefore, more women are choosing to buy rather than rent.

"Women having more buying power is great for our economy. It shows the tide has steadily began to change. We're excited to see it become a trend that continues to grow." - Mike Greeff

Sources: BetterBond, Property Wheel, Fin24, Ooba home loans