More ‘Gen Y’ women consider owning a home and paying it off as a top lifetime goal than their male counterparts, according to the Westpac Home Ownership Report.
The study reveals that Gen Y women who are looking to enter or are already in the property market are financially-focused and savvy when it comes to owning their home outright, with 87% of 18-34 year old females listing property-related ambitions as a top priority, versus 79% of men.
The report further revealed that Gen Y women also appear to have a better grasp of some of the important aspects of a home loan. Eighty one per cent of Gen Y females understand what a variable rate is, but only 60% of Gen Y males do.
Gen Y women also prioritise the saving benefits of focusing on repayments, with 73% listing paying off their loan sooner as the most important factor when taking out a home loan, compared with 56% of Gen Y men.
Considering their familiarity with the home loan basics it is not necessarily surprising that this generation of women is more focused on prioritising their finances, with many putting getting married and having children on the backburner. In fact, 49% of Gen Y women listed owning a home as a priority ahead of having children (14%) and getting married (5%).
“These women are financially-focused when preparing for their futures. It seems it is only once they are comfortable with their financial position that they are ready look at other lifetime priorities, such as getting married and starting a family,” says Westpac’s general manager of retail banking Gai McGrath.
