Data released by Statistics SA in their 2021 report has highlighted the importance of financial planning for women and the necessity of securing their financial futures by starting to save as early as possible and making long-term investments to ensure their golden years are not their leanest years.
So says Yael Geffen, CEO of for Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty: “South African women now live five and a half years longer than men and, with almost half of all marriages ending in divorce, it’s imperative that women exercise their hard-won rights by taking charge of their financial futures.
“It’s critical that those who are married or in permanent long-term relationships always be active participants in financial decisions and no matter their marital status, it’s never too soon to start planning and investing.
“And although women have long been the key decision-makers when it comes to home-buying decisions, it’s not that long since they could only buy property or enter into any type of binding contract with the authorisation of their fathers or husbands who then had legal ownership as well as managerial rights.
“These days, whether single or married, both sexes enjoy equal rights regarding financial autonomy and property ownership as stipulated in the Bill of Rights but until very recently the number of male buyers continued to far outnumber their female counterparts.
“However, this has begun to change and not only have women caught up, they are taking the lead with a slightly higher percentage of single women now buying homes than single men.”
Careen Mckinon, Head of Sales, at ooba, says: “From a national perspective, our statistics show a significant growth of female first-time buyers which have risen from 47,45% of their application intake in 2012 to 53,72% in 2022.
“Regionally, at a ratio of 59,14%, figures from our Eastern Cape region shows the highest current percentage of female FTB’s and our Mpumalanga statistics show the highest growth of female FTB’s from 35% in 2012 to 50% in 2022.”
She adds that whilst 97,90% of applications from female FTB’s are currently for the purpose of purchasing property for own occupation, there has been an upward trend since 2019 of buying property for investment purposes.
“The Western Cape has seen the highest growth in female FTB’s purchasing properties for investment purposes. 6,08% of all applications received in this region in 2022 thus far having been for properties acquired by the female FTB for investment purposes compared to 2,86% in 2012.
“Our Gauteng South East Rand region shows the highest ratio of female FTB’s purchasing properties for their own occupation and has the lowest growth in investment buying with 99,36% of applications received in this region from female FTB’s in 2022 being for own occupation.”
Mckinon says that with the exception of their Free State and South and East Rand Gauteng regions, female FTB property sales in 2021 and 2022 were concentrated in the purchase price band of >R750,000 to R1,500,000.
“In our Free State region, 52,67% of applications processed in 2022 fell into the purchase price band of ≤R750,000 with Gauteng South and East Rand showing a 45,29% concentration of applications received in this price category in 2022.”
Our Western Cape statistics show the highest percentage of applications received in 2022 in the purchase price band of >R1,500,000, with 34,79% of female FTB’s purchasing in this price category.”
Geffen says that although buying a home and making such a large and long-term financial investment can be very daunting, women are beginning to realise that the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages:
- Renting offers no return on investment whereas, even in a depressed market, homes typically increase in value, build equity and provide a nest egg for the future;
- Your costs are predictable and more stable than renting because they’re ideally based on a fixed-rate mortgage. Even if they are not, repayments linked to the interest rate are likely to increase well below annual rental inflation;
- Locking yourself into a mortgage payment helps level out living expenses, so when income goes up it can be budgeted elsewhere;
- Paying off a mortgage allows homeowners a long-term plan to significantly reduce their living expenses as they move toward a retirement budget;
- Moving from rental to rental is a not only a major inconvenience but also a financial and emotional burden;
- The interest and property tax portion of your mortgage payment is a tax deduction;
- Staying put for longer periods of time also creates social benefits that range from established friendships with neighbours to community involvement and consistent educational opportunities for children;
- Your investment can be leveraged to make another investment;
- And, ultimately, owning a home means putting down roots and having a space that is truly yours.
Geffen concludes: “We have come a long way since the era of Lilian Ngoyi, Rahima Moosa, Sophie Williams and Helen Joseph, four women who fearlessly lead the 9 August 1956 Protest to the Office of the Prime Minister petitioning the right of all women to possess a pass (Identity Documents).
“However, women still have a way to go before fully claiming their economic independence and, these days, that is becoming more important than it’s ever been.
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