The Weekend Post - Real Estate
Gen Y women taking leap into ownership
home loan market compared with their male counterparts.
Annual figures revealed a clear trend towards Gen Y females dominating males in the same age bracket every year since 2009.
“I decided to buy my own house as I couldn’t fathom paying rent on my own would cost me just as much each week as repayments would, for something that could be mine,” Ms Fichera said.
“Obviously, initially it is going to be more expensive and you need to have some savings for the fees that are involved, but knowing I go home to my own house each day gives me a sense of appreciation and self-worth.
“This is a milestone I have strived for ever since my working career began.”
The first-home buyer purchased her three-bedroom Mt Sheridan cottage after working hard to save a “decent deposit”.
“Buying a house is a difficult task,” she admitted. “It takes some strain on yourself mentally as it is a big commitment, but the results are worth it.”
She said it was promising that more females were willing to “go it alone” when it came to property investment.
“I find that society believes males are to do the hard yards and make the income for your family, but in recent years this stereotype has changed.
“I believe that there is no right or wrong way of making these commitments and there is definitely a huge sense of satisfaction knowing your hard work has been put towards something that you want.
“It’s time that Gen Y have stepped up and decided to become more independent.
“I am interested in setting myself (up) for the future.”
Queensland data revealed Gen Y women average a comfortable 2 percentage point lead on men of their generation (18 per cent versus 16 per cent) when it came to financial settlements. MORE young women than ever before are wearing the pants in owning their own homes, according to new data.
Since 2009, the ING Direct mortgage settlement breakdown has shown Gen Y males have been 2 percentage points behind Gen Y females when it comes to customer figures – except for last year when the women jumped ahead 3 percentage points.
Comparatively, for Gen X in the same period, the proportions were neck and neck at 25 per cent each, and, among Baby Boomers, men were ahead by one percentage point (9 per cent versus 8 per cent).
ING Direct customer executive director John Arnott said younger buyers had not been deterred by rising dwelling values. “The number of Gen Y customers with mortgage settlements has grown by 76 per cent since 2009,” he said.
“This growth is in stark contrast to Gen X, where the number of customers with mortgage settlements has decreased by 12 per cent.”
Housing was worth $6.5 trillion to the Australian economy, according to ING Direct, “almost three times the value of Australia’s combined superannuation funds”.
Despite the Gen Y rise, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show first home buyers were still a struggling segment of the housing finance market, making up 14.2 per cent of all owner-occupied loans in March this year – the lowest since May 2004. CoreLogic RP Data analyst Cameron Kusher warned those who didn’t already own a property would “struggle to compete with investors and upgraders who have been active in the market”. The “simple answer”, he said, was for first home buyers to look outside major cities for property.