Women still behind on property ownership, new report shows

Women continue to trail behind men in home ownership by 3%, according to Corelogic’s annual Women and Property Report for 2023.
The positive news is that since the snapshot taken in January of last year, there was a marginal decline (0.3%) in the gap between property owned by females and males.
This minor closing of the gap was helped by a decline in joint male-female home ownership and a slight increase in female ownership since last year.
Investment property results also show some cause for concern, with Corelogic finding that Aussie men own 7% more investment properties than women.
Corelogic says that despite a sharp fall in home values over the past 12 months, home ownership remains fairly consistent generally.
What has caused the gender gap in home ownership?
This latest report suggests that a large reason behind this inequality in home ownership is because of the gender wage gap - as of November 2022, the wage gap in Australia was 13.3%.
Corelogic used average weekly earnings data and the median Australian dwelling value (as of January 2023) to estimate how many months it would take a man to accumulate a 20% deposit for a home compared to the time taken for a woman – it came to 100 months of savings for a man, versus 113 months for a woman.
So that’s basically a year’s difference.
Why does property ownership matter?
It’s important to track rates of home ownership across different intersections of society to take note of patterns and see what can be done to reduce inequality.
The ways of accumulating wealth have been changing, for example.
According to Corelogic, “an extended period of low interest rates between 2008 and 2022 have seen substantial gains in asset values over wages and savings”, which means it’s become more important than ever to have concrete assets (such as property.)
Figures from the Reserve Bank from September 2022 point to 57% of household wealth being held in housing.
Unfortunately, buying a home is particularly hard in today’s economy with rising interest rates that can typically make it more expensive to secure a home loan.
Home ownership and building wealth
Home ownership is very often a source of wealth for funding costs later in life.
It’s one of those investment areas that tends to perform well over a longer period of time, based on figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The result of this is that older Australians who haven’t broken into property and retire as renters, are often faced with greater levels of economic stress.
This also can extend to women who haven’t broken into the market, with women more likely to end up facing economic hardship later in life than men.
The challenges can be overcome however. There are ways to build up your savings and start planning for a home purchase and we have a couple of handy guides on this, including one on how to buy your first home and one on how to save for a home deposit.
Home ownership isn’t easy but the task can be made simpler with good research. At Mozo, we compare the best home loans on the market that can help you get started and potentially save money.
Compare Home Loans - last updated 3 December 2023
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Featured Product
Mozo experts choice awards won:
- Low Cost Home Loan - 2023
Unloan Variable
Owner Occupier, Refinance Only, LVR <80%
interest rate
comparison rate
Initial monthly repayment5.74% p.a. variable5.65% p.a.For refinancers only. Built by CommBank, the Unloan is the first home loan with an increasing discount (conditions apply) for borrowers. No application or banking fees. No monthly account keeping or early exit fees. Apply in as little as 10 minutes.
CompareCompareUnloan Variable
For refinancers only. Built by CommBank, the Unloan is the first home loan with an increasing discount (conditions apply) for borrowers. No application or banking fees. No monthly account keeping or early exit fees. Apply in as little as 10 minutes.
- interest rate
- 5.74% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 5.65% p.a.
- interest rate
- 5.74% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 5.65% p.a.
- Upfront fees
- $0
- Ongoing fees
- $0.00
- Discharge Fee
- $0.00
- Extra repayments
- yes - free
- Redraw facility
- yes - free
- Offset account
- no
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 80.00%
- minimum borrowing amount
- $10,000
- maximum borrowing amount
- $10,000,000
- type of mortgage
- Variable
- Repayment types
- Principal & Interest
- Availability
- Owner Occupier
- Repayment options
- Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
- Special Offers
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Unloan Unloan Variable
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Home Variable Rate
Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, Refinance Only
interest rate
comparison rate
Initial monthly repayment6.15% p.a. variable6.15% p.a.Enjoy a competitive variable interest rate from Up. No application, monthly, annual, redraw, or discharge fees to pay. Up to 50 free offset accounts available. Up home loans are only available to owner-occupiers buying or refinancing in major Australian cities. Up is 100% owned by Bendigo Bank. New joiners get $10 by signing up to the app using code UPHOMEMOZO. (T&Cs apply) Mozo Experts Choice award winner.
CompareCompareHome Variable Rate
Enjoy a competitive variable interest rate from Up. No application, monthly, annual, redraw, or discharge fees to pay. Up to 50 free offset accounts available. Up home loans are only available to owner-occupiers buying or refinancing in major Australian cities. Up is 100% owned by Bendigo Bank. New joiners get $10 by signing up to the app using code UPHOMEMOZO. (T&Cs apply) Mozo Experts Choice award winner.
- interest rate
- 6.15% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.15% p.a.
- interest rate
- 6.15% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.15% p.a.
- Upfront fees
- $0
- Ongoing fees
- $0.00
- Discharge Fee
- $0.00
- Extra repayments
- yes - up to $30,000
- Redraw facility
- yes - free
- Offset account
- yes
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 90.00%
- minimum borrowing amount
- $50,000
- maximum borrowing amount
- $10,000,000
- type of mortgage
- Variable
- Repayment types
- Principal & Interest
- Availability
- Owner Occupier
- Repayment options
- Monthly
- Special Offers
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Up Home Variable Rate
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Offset Home Loan
Package, Owner Occupier, LVR<60%, Principal & Interest
interest rate
comparison rate
Initial monthly repayment6.14% p.a. variable6.39% p.a.Ability to open up to 10 offset accounts per loan account. Fast online application. Linked Debit Mastercard® with fee-free access at ATMs across Australia. Package a credit card with your home loan and the annual card fee will be waived (T&Cs apply). 40% deposit required.
CompareCompareOffset Home Loan
Ability to open up to 10 offset accounts per loan account. Fast online application. Linked Debit Mastercard® with fee-free access at ATMs across Australia. Package a credit card with your home loan and the annual card fee will be waived (T&Cs apply). 40% deposit required.
- interest rate
- 6.14% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.39% p.a.
- interest rate
- 6.14% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.39% p.a.
- Upfront fees
- $350
- Ongoing fees
- $248.00 yearly
- Discharge Fee
- $400.00
- Extra repayments
- yes - free
- Redraw facility
- yes - free
- Offset account
- yes
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 60.00%
- minimum borrowing amount
- $150,000
- maximum borrowing amount
- $10,000,000
- type of mortgage
- Variable
- Repayment types
- Principal & Interest
- Availability
- Owner Occupier
- Repayment options
- Monthly
- Special Offers
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Macquarie Offset Home Loan
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Flex Home Loan
Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR <80%
interest rate
comparison rate
Initial monthly repayment6.19% p.a. variable6.43% p.a.Competitive variable rate. Multiple offset accounts available. Borrowers can also make extra repayments. Redraw facility available. Simple online application process.
CompareCompareFlex Home Loan
Competitive variable rate. Multiple offset accounts available. Borrowers can also make extra repayments. Redraw facility available. Simple online application process.
- interest rate
- 6.19% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.43% p.a.
- interest rate
- 6.19% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.43% p.a.
- Upfront fees
- $250
- Ongoing fees
- $250.00 yearly
- Discharge Fee
- $300.00
- Extra repayments
- yes - free
- Redraw facility
- yes - free
- Offset account
- yes
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 80.00%
- minimum borrowing amount
- -
- maximum borrowing amount
- -
- type of mortgage
- Variable
- Repayment types
- Principal & Interest
- Availability
- Owner Occupier
- Repayment options
- Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
- Special Offers
- -
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the ubank Flex Home Loan
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Mozo experts choice awards won:
- Packaged Home Loan - 2023
Variable Rate Home Loan Special Offer
Package, Owner Occupier, Principal & Interest, LVR<80%
interest rate
comparison rate
Initial monthly repayment6.14% p.a. variable6.51% p.a.Package benefits across Home Loans, Visa Credit Card, Personal Loans and Term Deposits. No package fee for the first year. No application, settlement or redraw fees to pay. Quick and easy application. Free CoreLogic RP Data property reports. *Terms, conditions and lending criteria apply.
CompareCompareVariable Rate Home Loan Special Offer
Package benefits across Home Loans, Visa Credit Card, Personal Loans and Term Deposits. No package fee for the first year. No application, settlement or redraw fees to pay. Quick and easy application. Free CoreLogic RP Data property reports. *Terms, conditions and lending criteria apply.
- interest rate
- 6.14% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.51% p.a.
- interest rate
- 6.14% p.a. variable
- comparison rate
- 6.51% p.a.
- Upfront fees
- $0
- Ongoing fees
- $395.00 yearly
- Discharge Fee
- $350.00
- Extra repayments
- yes - free
- Redraw facility
- yes - free
- Offset account
- yes
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 80.00%
- minimum borrowing amount
- $150,000
- maximum borrowing amount
- -
- type of mortgage
- Variable
- Repayment types
- Principal & Interest
- Availability
- Owner Occupier
- Repayment options
- Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly
- Special Offers
- $0 package fee for the first year.
Read our Mozo Review to learn more about the Credit Union SA Variable Rate Home Loan Special Offer