Women buying real estate favour condos and apartments

In recent years, as women have become financially independent, they have formed a force in the real estate market that cannot be underestimated. Real estate agent analysis shows that in 2014 the male-to-female home-buying ratio was 49:51, women home buyers were mostly aged 40 to 49, and they preferred condos and apartments.

After compiling statistics on customer home purchases for the whole of 2014, the Housing & Commercial Real Estate Planning Research Office found that the male-to-female ratio was about 49:51, with women slightly ahead, but in terms of age and the products purchased, women home buyers were mostly 40 to 49 years old, higher than men's largest group of 30 to 39 years old.

In terms of product type, because small homes have risen in popularity, condo products were the bulk of purchases for both men and women, but women's share of residential types (condos, apartments) was greater than men's.

Hsu Chia-hsin, director of the Housing & Commercial Real Estate Planning Research Office, analysed that as women become financially independent, they particularly favour real estate that preserves capital, so in recent years many cases have put forward special plans aimed at women's needs; in the future, as staying single and marrying late gradually become a force, real estate will also see considerable changes.

Hsu Chia-hsin pointed out that by age group, women's largest share of home buying fell in the 40 to 49 bracket, at 31.5%, while men's largest share fell in the 30 to 39 bracket, at 33.11%. Many men buy homes because they are of marriageable age, while many women home buyers buy because they are single, and therefore only enter the market to buy a home after 40 when they have financial leeway; however, many families also register a replacement home under the wife's name, which is also one of the reasons women's home-buying age skews higher.

In terms of product type, women are more conservative in home buying, mostly purchasing condos and apartments, whereas detached houses and special other types of real estate, such as land and parking spaces, are mostly dominated by men.

Hsu Chia-hsin analysed that in asset-planning habits, women still favour steady, capital-preserving, easily liquid assets, but men care about return on investment, so higher-risk targets that can easily yield huge profits are still dominated by men; and from product type, this also reveals the different thinking of the two sexes when buying homes.