Rise of Women Buyers in the Indian Real Estate Market

Traditionally, purchasing a home has been perceived as a man-driven affair. But in recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in the home buying patterns in India. Women have started establishing a path of their own and are becoming financially independent. There was a time when women were only entitled to own their ancestral home but times are changing and women have started investing in real estate properties for several reasons. First, to have a place for themselves which is in close proximity to their workplace. Secondly, whether they are Indian residents or NRIs, women are also purchasing a property in an effort to diversify their investment portfolio.

In fact, in a recent survey by Anarock, nearly 20% participants were women. Among the many highlights of this survey — nearly 42% women respondents preferred real estate as an investment asset class, followed by 30% for FDs and a mere 17% for gold. Earlier men used to be the sole decision-makers of the family; however, the trend has changed over the period of time. Men and women are equally involved in the decision-making process of home buying. In fact, most of the times, the home-buying decisions are actually influenced by the women at their homes.

According to a report by Track2Realty, women contribute to nearly 74% of real estate buying decisions.  This includes 32% of home buying by single women across the top eight cities. Real estate developers offer special discounts targeting women home buyers and exclusive offers are presented for single women home buyers in a project. The independence and confidence rushing through the female segment of the society have also brought great improvements in the sales of Real Estate Market.

With comparatively less space required by a nuclear family than a joint family, the decision-making process has also changed radically both in terms of who makes them and what the choices are made. Nearly 60% women home seekers prefer a property within the budget-range of ₹80 lakh and 52% will opt for ready-to-move-in homes. Also, nearly 80% prefer large-size units within both 2 and 3 BHK options (between 1,000-1,250 sq. ft for 2 BHKs and 1,250-2,000 sq. ft. for 3 BHKs). Clearly, contrary to the increasing conservative preference for compact homes, the Indian millennial woman does not want to compromise on property size. While buying a property, women look for apartments with close proximity to schools, healthcare, workplace and shopping. A good neighborhood with parks and playgrounds is an added advantage.

These trends indicate that women are emerging as a critical homebuyer segment in India — not just a ‘niche’ segment — and that marketers and developers must re-strategize their business approach to include them as a major target audience. Property marketers must factor in this vitally important change in their customer demographics. In fact, there are many benefits women in India can avail by buying and registering property in their name.

Lower stamp duty charges: Women can also enjoy the benefit of paying lesser stamp duty than men. It is usually one or two per cent lesser than what men are obliged to pay. However, this rate varies from state to state. For example, in Delhi, the stamp duty for men is 6% while its only 4% for women. In Haryana, it’s 6% for women and 8% for men. You can also save a significant amount if the property is registered in the name of the female partner as the stamp duty is lesser in such cases.

 

Stamp duty charges for Women Vs Men

State	For men	For women
Jharkhand	7%	Only Re 1
Delhi	6%	4%
Haryana	6% in rural 8% in urban	4% in rural 6% in urban
UP	7%	Rebate of Rs 10,000 on overall charges
Rajasthan	5%	4%
Punjab	6%	4%
Maharashtra	6%	6%
Tamil Nadu	7%	7%
West Bengal	5% in rural 6% in urban (Plus 1% if property cost is >Rs 40 lakhs)	Same
Karnataka	5.6%	5.6%

Note: List is not exhaustive – charges are indicative and subject to change.

Deduction of tax: Women are also eligible for a tax deduction of up to 1.5 lakh in case the property is self-occupied. Both husband and wife are eligible for income tax deductions if it is a co-owned property. Additionally, for a property that is rented out, the interest on home loan can be claimed as deduction against the net rental value in totality.

Lower interest rates on housing loan: Women who wish to seek housing loans are now eligible to avail a .05 reduction on their interest rates. Additionally, many banks such as SBI, HDFC, ICICI, etc., offer discounts on home loan interest rates to women as compared to men. This varies from bank to bank and goes up to nearly one per cent. The prevailing interest rates for women borrowers are as mentioned below:

Home loan interest rate (floating) – Women borrowers Vs Others

Bank	Interest rate for Women borrowers (per cent, per annum)	Interest rate for others (per cent, per annum)
SBI	8.7-9.25	8.75-9.35
ICICI Bank	9.1-9.3	9.1-9.3
HDFC Ltd	8.7- 9.3	8.75- 9.35
PNB	8.65-8.7	8.7-8.75

Note: Rate as on March 27, 2019 (For loan amount < Rs one crore)

Convenience of co-borrowing: First-time home buyers often find it challenging to meet home loan eligibility criteria, but things can get way more convenient if a couple applies for a loan as co-borrowers. Including wife as the co-owner, in case she is a working professional, can also increase the loan eligibility of the couple, as the bank would consider their combined salary.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana for women: The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is envisioned to encourage home ownership amongst women in cities as well as villages. Under PMAY, one adult female member is made mandatory in the ownership of a house. Women borrowers also can get an interest rate concession on a home loan under PMAY.

Most of the women home buyers look out to buy property for self- use. This trend could be attributed to the special benefits provided to women home buyers. In recent times, we have seen women taking on different roles – from a student looking for student housing options to a working woman looking for a home; the single mother looking for choices that fits her child’s upbringing and is close to her workplace. With their changing roles the growth trajectory for women has been much more noticeable. The trend of women being the second biggest group of home buyers is also catching up in many tier II cities. Women home buyers are incentivized with several customized schemes and offers by government, banks and financial institutions, developers and channel partners.

Sources:

hindustantimes.com/real-estate/century-real-estate-introduces-my-home-my-choice-offer-exclusively-for-women-home-buyers/story-i5CsLF7cLr5VSRH8GgJfVK.html

anujpuri.com/millennial-women-home-ownership/