The gender gap in property ownership is significantly higher in the Hunter, especially outside Newcastle, than in the rest of Australia.
An analysis of Tax Office figures released by CoreLogic on International Women's Day show that 21.7 per cent of properties in the Hunter are owned solely by women, compared with 30.9 per cent owned only by men. The other 47.4 per cent are owned by a mix of men and women.
The 9.2 per cent gender differential in the region is almost three times as large as in the rest of Australia, where 26.2 per cent of properties are owned solely by women, 29.9 per cent by men and 43.9 per cent are owned by both men and women.
Women in the Hunter are just as likely to fully or partly own property as women in the rest of Australia but drop well below the national average when not in a relationship.
Women slightly outnumber men in the Hunter and make up more than 60 per cent of single-parent or lone-adult households in Australia yet are under-represented in property ownership.
The gender differences in the Hunter are even more pronounced outside Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. Outside the city, sole female property ownership drops to just 18.9 per cent, 13.4 percentage points lower than for men (32.3 per cent).
The gender gap in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie council areas is 5.6 per cent.
In the news
- Jarryd Hayne sexual assault retrial begins over Newcastle allegations
- Lemon Tree Passage man, 24, tasered after allegedly threatening police with knife
- Royals 'worried about Archie's dark skin'
- Australia's international borders should not open until the majority of Australians are vaccinated: Researcher
The CoreLogic report said gender gaps in property had a knock-on effect to retirement incomes.
"Given there's a high level of equity held in real estate, if you don't own property, that's a big source of household wealth and security you don't have access to," report author Eliza Owen said.
Property Council regional director Anita Hugo said the figures were a "wake-up call".
"There is no doubt that in relation to a whole raft of economic indicators we still have a way to go to achieve parity," she said.
"The CoreLogic data shows that the impact of inequities such as that in relation to pay has far-reaching consequences. We need to keep working harder to achieve equality, especially ensuring women are on an equal financial footing."
Ms Hugo said other Tax Office data showed property investors were evenly split between men and women.
CoreLogic said its inaugural Women and Property: State of Play report boosted evidence of the relationship between the gender pay gap and the gender wealth gap.
The report analysed 4.79 million properties, including 32,588 in the Hunter.
It found female ownership rose in areas with more expensive housing, including inner-south Melbourne and Sydney's eastern suburbs, where sole female ownership outstripped male ownership by four to five percentage points.
The gender pay gap in Australia is 13.4 per cent but could be closer to 30 per cent after taking into account women comprise only 37.9 per cent of the full-time workforce.
"The areas where women have higher rates of property ownership also generally have higher median household incomes," Ms Owen said.
"This reinforces the view that women can actually have a higher propensity to buy property than men, therefore women with higher incomes have more success."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark: newcastleherald.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
