News Article Published:
Thursday, 16 August 2007
Category:
Financial Services
It could be a prudent move for finance firms providing mortgages to stop thinking of their target audience as men when marketing, as a study has shown that more women than ever are now investing in property.
Research from thePropertyInvestmentMarket.com revealed that one in four buy-to-let investors is estimated to be female.
Mortgage providers could benefit from using advertising to play on female concerns, as women in their twenties now earn 96 per cent of the amount that male colleagues earn.
Ironically, the way that pensions are marketed may be the reason why women are relying more on property for financial support in retirement.
Stephen Kenny, chief executive of ThePropertyInvestmentMarket.com, said that the pensions market continues to be centred on men.
"Women get a raw deal when it comes to pensions," he said. "Generally they earn less which makes their contributions smaller, and they are also more likely to take a career break for children or to care for elderly relatives, which again affects contributions.
"Unlike pensions, property investment is much more flexible and because it is not linked to earnings it isn't affected by working patterns and can be fitted around family life."
Mr Kenny concluded: "From our perspective we have seen a significant rise in the number of women using the exchange. They are being attracted to the idea of putting together a portfolio of property from the comfort and convenience of their own home and then being able to monitor it online.
"The great appeal of property is that people feel they understand it, unlike other forms of investment the concept is straightforward and the rewards are easy to see."
<< back to latest industry news