Girls Power should not be turned off

Nov. 1, 2010 - PRLog -- Mareeba First National principal, Selena Carabot cautions that agents who continue to ignore women in the property purchase process, do so at their own peril, as they risk alienating a major buying audience.

According to research commissioned by the First National Real Estate network, more than one in four women say real estate agents take more notice of their partner when they buy a home together, with older women feeling they are the most discriminated against.
“This is completely unacceptable in this day and age,” Selena said.
“Women play a critical role in the property purchasing decision, and as such, it is crucial agents take this into account, from the way the property is marketed, right through to inclusive conversations with both sides of the home buying relationship.

“Apart from being discriminatory, it is not good business practice and bad for the industry overall.

“Statistics show the number of women planning to purchase property on their own has more than doubled in the last two years alone, so they are an important part of the real estate market.”

The survey, conducted on behalf of First National Real Estate by Newspoll, interviewed 1200 women from around Australia, across all age groups, and found that the older women got, they more they felt they were not being considered, or listened to by real estate agents.

“While a slightly higher percentage of women who felt this way were found in capital cities, 28 per cent, it was followed closely by those in metropolitan areas outside the capital city centres, at 22.7 per cent,” Selena said.

“The feeling seemed more prevalent in those who had bought a house between 11 and 20 years ago than those who bought a house more than 20 years ago.”

The survey also found that the major influence on the home buying decision for women was whether the area was safe to live in.

“Interestingly, the older the women surveyed were, the less important this became as an influencing factor, although it was still the key one,” Selena said.

“For 100 per cent of the women surveyed aged 24 to 28, safety was a major influence, but this declines as the women got older.  78.2 per cent of those aged 25 to 34, 71.1 per cent of those aged 35 to 49 and then only 59.3 per cent of those over 50 considered it a major issue.”

Other main influences for women were:
•   The number of rooms, with this being the top reason for 55.8 per cent of the 35 to 49 year old age bracket
•   Potential for the home to increase in value - 55.1 per cent
•   Outdoor living area - 49.2 per cent
•   Having off-street parking - 45.4 per cent
•   The home having good potential to improve or renovate - 44.2 per cent
•   Proximity to shops - 35.7 per cent
•   Home already being new/fully renovated - 29.5 per cent
•   Proximity to public transport - 29.2 per cent

“Safety, space and value are clearly issues of major concern to women and it is important that agents remember that when selling or renting a home, or helping women to find their next purchase” Selena Carabot said.

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Issued by: First National Real Estate
For further information contact Selena Carabot, Mareeba First National Real Estate, on
07-40 922 111   www.mareebafirstnational.com

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