China’s property sector experiences gender shift with more women home buyers

Survey reveals that 38.8 percent of women can now afford to purchase their own homes

The real estate market in China is currently going through a gender shift as more women are purchasing homes compared to years before when the buyer’s market was primarily male-dominated. Asia Times believe that this is a clear indication that female talents are now more educated and receive higher salaries in major cities.

A market survey conducted by e-realtor Anjuke and resource-swapping platform 58.com revealed that 40 percent of Chinese women are planning to buy homes on their own. But with the coronavirus outbreak, 41 percent has decided to hold off their purchase plans. Around 83 percent did reveal that they intend to buy a home within the next five years.

When it comes to financial capability, 38.8 percent of their respondents have the means to purchase on their own, 40 percent are planning to invest with their partners, and one-fifth are relying on their parents. 

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The respondents of the survey consisted of professional women aged 18 to 40 working in emerging first-tier and first-tier cities. 

Meanwhile, real estate platform Beike saw a spike in single female buyers of second-hand homes in 12 major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. According to them, 47.9 percent of their buyers in 2018 were women, from only 30 percent in 2014. 

“The rise in the number of single women homeowners shows the elevated social and economic status of women in China,” said Liu Lu, the professor of economics at Southwest University of Finance and Economics.