Women are in charge when a couple buys a home. Plenty of research has been done on this subject and the results are always the same: women dominate in the home-buying process. They get what they want.
The latest entry is a survey conducted by the Canadian online realtor TheRedPin.com. The brokerage says it wanted to answer the question “who’s the boss?” once and for all. Is it men or women? By polling their agents, the company says it was able to determine that women get the home they want. The result was “virtually unanimous,” with 97.6 per cent of respondents agreeing. Even when men seem to make the decision, it’s really the women who get their way. The conclusion, according to the RedPin, is that men would like to believe that they make the “big spending calls” but they likely don’t. Couples will resort to manipulation and bribery to get what they want when buying a home, offering things like decorating rights, a man/woman cave, and a new car as bait.
These findings line up with those of a similar Australian survey done recently. It asked senior executives at a number of real estate companies the same question: who has the greater say when buying a home, the man or the woman? The executives were unanimous: women do. The Australian survey found that women in that country are playing an increasingly dominant role in the real estate market whether they are married or not. It cites census data showing that 65 per cent of single female “householders” own their own home, compared to 55 per cent of men.
Interestingly, women’s taking charge in home buying is not just a western phenomenon. Even in traditionally male-dominated societies like India, there are reports that women are increasingly taking the lead in making decisions about buying and renting homes. A survey through an online housing portal Housing.com put the number at 95 per cent. Younger women, aged 18–34, are especially likely to be active in real estate decisions, particularly regarding the amount paid and the terms of payment. The survey included women in India’s largest cities, Mumbai, Calcutta, and Delhi.
Research into gender roles in the home carried out at the Pew Research Centre in 2008 again reinforces this overall pattern of behaviour. Looking at the subject of domestic behaviour more broadly, the Pew research examined such decisions as what couples do on weekends, how they manage household finances, making big-purchase decisions and watching television. In all decisions, women dominated: 43 per cent of the time it was the woman who decided. Men decided in 26 per cent of situations, while a split decision was made in 31 per cent of cases. The survey found that in only 33 per cent of couples, women did not take the lead in any of the four areas tested.
As for what actually appeals to people when they are looking to buy a home, there’s more similarity than difference. A survey done by realtor Coldwell Banker found that the most important factor for both men and women is how they feel about the home. They will consider the price, of course, and the location and the size, among other things. But in the end, they must have the right “feeling” for the place before buying. This instinct is so strong that nearly two-thirds of buyers, both men and women, say that they can tell the home is right for them on the first visit. There’s no need even to go back and take another look
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