5 Advantages Women Can Avail While Buying A Property: An Essential Guide To Save Money

The real estate industry offers several benefits for women homebuyers with low-interest rates from banks and various government initiatives. As a result, the  the participation of women in this industry has been witnessing a steady rise over the past few years. Women are a primary force in the buying decision now.

According to a recent study on women homebuyers in real estate, nearly 42 per cent of women prefer real estate as an investment asset class. Around 30 per cent chose fixed deposits, and only 17 per cent of them were interested in gold investment. As more women are becoming homeowners, banks, real estate companies, and the government are introducing several customer-friendly initiatives.A new segment of young working women homebuyers, who opted to stay on rent are now preferring to own a home. The pandemic has strengthened their reason to buy a house, which may combat future crisis.

#1 Financial Benefits for Women Property Buyers

Home loans at a lower interest rate:

Several well-known financial institutions, banks are offering home loans with a reduced rate of interest exclusively for women. Additionally, numerous provisions with the introduction of schemes, offers, and initiatives are provided to encourage women homebuyers. As a result of these benefits, women are encouraged to own properties for their family members. This support is available to women who are entrepreneurs, homemakers, and executive segments of the population. Some of the schemes that support the women homebuyers are:

• ‘Her Ghar’ by the State Bank of India,
• Women Power’ by HDFC
• Mahila Awas loan.

Several lenders offer exciting discounts on home loan interest rates to attract women homebuyers. For instance, State Bank of India, set aside its lowest interest rates for women in various types of home loan categories. Banks offer loans under Rs 30 lakh for salaried borrowers at 0.25% higher interest to men than women.

#2 Convenience of Co-borrowing

Whether it is men or women, first-time homebuyers often find it difficult to meet the eligibility criteria for any home loan. However, the process becomes easy and simple if a couple applies for a loan as a co-borrowers. For instance, let’s consider, a person with Rs.1 lakh of salary would like to apply for Rs. 80 lakh home loan. Since the lender offers a maximum loan amount of 60 times the borrower’s take-home salary/month, the applicant failed to avail Rs. 80 lakh as the loan amount. In this scenario, if the same person, applies for a loan with her/her spouse who may be earning 50 -75 lakh per month then it is easy to get the desired loan amount from the banks, as they consider the income of both co-borrowers.

#3 Benefits under Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY):

Under PMAY women are given more preference as compared to male applicants.  It is mandatory under the PMAY scheme to have at least one woman member registered as the owner of the property.  The government is ready to provide subsidies up to Rs. 2.67 lakh if a woman holds ownership of the property associated with PMAY scheme.

Under PMAY, women can avail of almost 6.5 % interest subsidy up to Rs. 6 lakh of the loan amount, if they fall under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and earning Rs. 3 lakh per annum or falling under Lower Income Group (LIG). Generally, the scheme perceives women to be better decision-makers with respect to property investment in India. Thanks to PMAY, the number of first-time women homebuyers has increased substantially.

First-time homebuyers can avail the benefits of up to Rs 2.35 lakh subsidy under the Central Government’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS). This subsidy is also helping both men and women, as they dig out their savings for a down payment fund. 

#4 Women as a Homeowner

As per the recent survey of a leading real estate agent, the portion of women preferring investment in real estate to investments in fixed deposits or gold has increased over the years. Having an active say in the home buying decision, women nowadays constitute nearly thirty per cent of the entire property purchases in India.

According to BankBazaar’s Moneymood, the average home loan for women is Rs. 26.57 lakh, whereas for men it is 22.97 lakh, which is 20% lower than women. As per the TransUnion CIBIL report 2019 data, the growth rate of a successful credit application of women was 48% between the years 2015 and 2018. However, male borrowers fared only 35% growth.

As per the National Association of Realtors data, in the year 2020, 19% of first-time home buyers and 17% of repeat home buyers were women, while 11% of first-time home buyers and 9% of repeat buyers were single men.  The average age of these women home buyers is 33 years, while the median age of female repeat buyers is 59.

Stamp Duty and Registration charges:

Case	Stamp duty rate	Registration charges
When a man, woman or joint owners buy the property	5% on properties above Rs 35 lakhs. 3% on properties between Rs 21 lakhs and 35 lakhs 2% on properties less than Rs 20 lakhs	1% of the property value

#5 Post-Covid Opportunities

Several real estate companies believe that in the post-COVID world, women will become significant stakeholders while buying property. About 48 per cent of women browsed properties they were interested in as against 39% men. An increase in financial independence among women is the main reason for the surge in homeownership among women.

According to a recent Makaan.com and Housing.com study, women are leading in online searches for properties and playing a very active role in the home buying decision. The engagement of women in buying decision is increasing between the age of 18 and 35 years.

When it comes to buying property, women are more brand conscious compared to men. In addition, almost 60% of women prefer buying a home from a reputed real estate firm to ensure quality service and security.

Trends for Women Homebuyers

The latest trends show that 47% of women homebuyers are aged between 25-35 years, 41% of them are between 35-45 years. In an era of emerging women homebuyers, several builders are constantly creating innovation in their service that suits their current segment of customers. Furthermore, these may include a home with enhanced safety features, a strong security system using modern technology, amenities eco-friendly amenities, cafe, gym and healthcare centres inside the premises of their community.

According to ANAROCK, a property consultant, “at least 40% women home seekers prefer a property in the mid-segment price bracket with ticket sizes between INR 45-90 lakh. And almost 35% of them are preferring the affordable segment priced within Rs. 45 lakh. Only 3% of women will consider buying luxury properties priced over INR 1.5 crore – as against 12% men who prefer to buy within this category”

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