More than half South Africa’s first-time homebuyers are single women. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a lifestyle trend or a feminist victory lap. And it is definitely not a threat to men, despite what some corners of the internet would have you believe.
I would like you to try looking at the data through a rational lens and see this as a response to risk. According to Absa data, more than 50% of its first-time homebuyers are single women. Standard Bank reports that women have made up 70% of its home loan clients over the past decade.
Lightstone has also confirmed that single women are purchasing more homes than single men and even couples. Yet, when a prominent influencer, Koshiek Karan, recently posted a thread on X about women dominating the first-time buyer market, the response was fascinating. The replies were angry and defensive, with some accusing women of taking men’s jobs.
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Others framed men as the new victims of the economy. But when we go back to the data, we see that women experience higher unemployment than men across every education bracket in South Africa. That is according to Statistics South Africa.
From matric to postgraduate degrees, women are more likely to be unemployed, underpaid or stuck in precarious work. If women are not winning in the economy, what are they doing? For many women, buying a home is not about status. It is about control over their own lives and protection rather than prestige.
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