The gender gap in luxury real estate homeownership may be closing.
More than half (54%) of luxury home owners under the age of 35 are women, reflecting the shifting landscape of the luxury market, According to a survey by Luxury Portfolio International.
Men still make up the majority (59%) of luxury homeowners between the ages of 35 and 64, but women are on the rise among the younger cohort of affluent buyers.
In Q4 2020, 44% of luxury home buyers were women. The figures in the report show that the number will rise steadily by 2% per year thereafter before reaching 49% in the second quarter of 2023.
The study pooled responses from more than 1,400 people from 24 countries on five continents with a minimum annual income of $250,000 and an average home value of more than $3.3 million.
The existence of a wealth gap between men and women is not a new concept.
In 2020, a recent Yale University study published showed that single women buying real estate had a 1.5 percent lower annual return on investment than men. The researchers analyzed U.S. transactions from 1991 to 2017.
Mickey Alam Khan, president of Luxury Portfolio International, said the growth of women in the industry was “refreshing” and said agencies at the high end should “adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.”
The gender gap isn’t the only noticeable change among buyer subsets. In a sign of shifting attitudes toward technology and the digital world, 46 percent of luxury home buyers under the age of 35 said they found social media advertising to be the most effective platform, the report found.
Younger luxury buyers also place more emphasis on brokerage relationships, while buyers over 35 prioritize local market knowledge.
Other findings show that priorities are shifting across generations, with 52% of luxury homeowners under 35 owning extended family property (with a clear emphasis on family and community life) The proportion is less than 38%.
— Ted Glazer
