Rising Number of Female Investors in Real Estate Majority of the working women prefer to invest in property rather than investing in share market and mutual funds
By Rohit Poddar
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Real estate sector in India has grown enormously in the last decade and currently contributes 5 to 6 per cent to the GDP of the country. Real estate sector is expected to contribute 13 per cent of GDP by 2025 and reach a market size of US$ 1 trillion by 2030 from US$ 120 billion in 2017. India is one of the fastest growing economies across the globe makes real estate a subject of interest for investors. Real estate is considered as the male-dominated industry, however, with women entering into the sector, the industry has changed significantly. The number of women in real estate has been increasing gradually over the past few years. Be it an investment or running a real estate company, women have made real estate their domain.
Several factors are playing as a catalyst and have led to the rise in a number of female investors in the real estate industry.
Increasing Financial Capacity
Indian economy has grown by leaps and bounds and has strengthened the financial capacities of working women living in the country. In metropolitan cities like Mumbai, females are more ambitious and career driven. The ratio of earning is equal to the male counterpart. Entrepreneurship is a trending culture which is being picked up very quickly by young female aspirants living in major urban areas. Women in today's world are well educated, qualified and have global exposure. They have the quality needed to excel in the real estate industry. Government policies to support the startups have created a positive environment and have given women an extra spur to run their own company. For instance, many female entrepreneurs are running their own real estate company and gaining prominence in the commercial real estate.
Increased spending capacity in cities has made women savvier about their finances and monetary investments. Women are becoming active and aggressive investors in real estate. Majority of the working women prefer to invest in property rather than investing in share market and mutual funds.
Affordable Housing: a Most Promising Solution
Women in old days were supposed to get married at a certain age and a single woman was considered an oddity in the society. But in today's world, there is an increase in the cohort of single, working women living in major urban areas. They are being liberated by the salaries they earn and are not shying away when it comes to buying a home of their own. But in a city like Mumbai drubbing property prices makes it difficult to buy a home in the city centre where the price of an apartment with 450 sq ft space ranges from 90 lakhs to 1.5 Cr. Hence affordable housing is the most fitting solution for women who are leading an independent lifestyle, staying away from family. Keeping that in mind developers are coming up with housing projects which are affordable and convenient as well along with better connectivity to urban areas of the cities.
Advantages to the sector:
1. Eminent Leadership
Real estate in India is the most recognized sector and is the 2nd largest employer after agriculture. Participation of women in the higher productivity sectors has fuelled economic growth. Women are getting recognition steadily for their distinctive work ethics and leadership quality in the industry. Women are blessed with the power of multi-tasking& transporting successfully both personal & social competency by bringing out the power of their personality to serve the purpose.
2. Better Client Relationship
Women in the industry have an edge over their male colleagues. Empathy and "Never give up" spirit are the two qualities that already exist in the DNA of women. Women are more caring, nurturing patient in nature and sensitive towards the needs of the clients.
Women know how to balance things and are good at multitasking which is a crucial aspect of real estate. Educated women are able to balance the things and are able to bring compassion, determination and the needed synergy to take the business forward in an efficient manner.