Taking the reins:
Today’s woman in real estate
I love introducing
women to the world of real estate. Since I began my career, the opportunity has
been arising more and more often. The fact is, more single women are buying Ottawa homes
today than ever before.
This can be chalked
up to several factors. Many younger women are choosing to focus on their
careers rather than getting married and starting families in their twenties. Such
financially independent women see no reason to postpone home ownership. On the
other side of the coin, it’s the unfortunate truth that approximately 50 per
cent of marriages lead to divorce, leaving many women to house hunt solo for
the first time. Finally, women live seven to ten years longer than men on average,
which translates to a significant number of widows finding themselves in the
market for a smaller home.
This adds up to a lot of women who are faced
with making crucial financial decisions about matters such as mortgages,
insurance and investments, for the first time in their lives. Having been
raised by a single mother, this is an issue that’s close to my heart. I watched
my mom struggle financially and long ago decided that, married or not, I would
take control of my personal finances; for me, real estate investment was key. I
strongly believe that engaging with the real estate market can be an excellent
way to leverage your current funds. Many people give their savings over to
financial advisors, acquiring paper assets; but such investments give them
little control over their own finances. Property investment, on the other hand,
gives the owner complete control: real estate can be leveraged, improved or
rented out as you see fit.
Interestingly, 15
per cent more single women are buying homes as compared with single men. This
may be connected with a nesting instinct, with a heightened desire for
security, or with a preference for investing in something tangible as opposed
to paper assets. Whatever the explanation, it’s a trend I’m happy to see. When
women overcome their initial apprehensions about investing, they tend to do
very well; in fact, studies have shown that all-women investment clubs
regularly out-perform all-men investment clubs by as much as 20 per cent.
The reason for
this? I believe that, just as women are more willing than men to ask for
directions, they’re not afraid to ask questions when it comes to learning
something new. They’ll listen to professionals and weigh in all the factors,
whereas men are more likely to want to do things their way. Women are also often
more moderate risk-takers; having succeeded, they’ll take their money and move
on to the next endeavour. Applied to real estate investment, these traits stand
women in good stead.
Unlike some career ventures, I believe there
is no glass ceiling in the world of real estate investment. Given the
motivation and the proper know-how, there’s nothing holding women back from
finding significant financial success through property ownership.
Marnie Bennett
Visit www.bennettpros.com for all your real estate needs.
