Shocking pay gaps hit South Africa’s female house hunters – realestate.com.au

It’s hard enough being a single buyer and competing with dual-income buyers and investors, but spare a thought for our single women, experts say.

Census data shows that there is a significant gender pay gap in South Africa’s suburbs and cities, with single women facing reduced borrowing options in all but two areas.

Analysis by Stop Renting Australia shows that the largest pay gap in any South Africa is in Roxby Downs, where the average weekly income for men is $2294 per week, compared to $1287 for women.

This amounts to a difference of $52,369.72 per year, putting single-income female buyers at a serious disadvantage when competing with a single-income male from the same suburb.

Earnings women in Beaumont-Glen Osmond experience the second largest disparity in income, and by extension, borrowing power, bringing in approximately $25,487.64 less annually than their male counterparts.

Stop Renting Australia marketing and brand manager Tabitha Greaves said the gender pay gap revealed in the data is not surprising.

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“I feel like if you speak to a woman in any market it won’t be a surprise and unfortunately it affects everything else in life… it affects the acquisition of real estate and I believe that that gap, which is quite large in some areas, needs to be bridged,” she said.

“We need to close the gap.”

Ms Greaves said many justify the gender gap issue in terms of celebrities or on sporting fields, but it hits much closer to home than many, especially men, would think.

Buying a house is hard enough, and that’s before you consider the income gap between the genders. Photo: Getty Images

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“To qualify for a $747,000 home, one applicant must currently have $142,000 and a five percent down payment, with no children and no debt,” she said.

“That’s a unicorn, and let’s say you’re a single mother – she’s disqualified because she’s a single applicant with dependents.

“The gender pay gap not only affects your take-home pay, it also means lower savings, which means slower savings, lower borrowing limits and all of these things result in fewer options. That’s why we’re seeing a lot of single applicants and single women renting longer.”

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Surprisingly, the data showed that there were two areas where women’s borrowing capacity gave them an edge over their male counterparts.

These were in the APY Lands where women earn an average of $5190.12 more than men per year, and in Coober Pedy where they are $2917.72 ahead.

Ms Greaves said it was encouraging to see some women even earning better than men in some areas.

“At the end of the day, it’s not a competition, it’s about affordability and it’s about bringing as much value to the market as a man would. That’s why I think recognition of your value – that’s what we all want at the end of the day, whether you’re male or female,” she said.

Courtney Turner, who recently bought her own home, in her rental property. photo Roy VanDerVegt

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Courtney Turner, 40, has just bought a house and land parcel in Seaton as a single mother, having previously owned a home with a former partner.

She said the road to homeownership had been challenging.

“It is demeaning and discriminatory to know that I earn less than a man, and that only puts me at a greater disadvantage when I try to buy a house,” she said.

“But I’m proud that I did it, and if I can give a woman in the same situation even the slightest bit of hope that she can do it too, then that would be my dream come true, because it’s hard, but we can do it.”

Blackfish Finance founder Leah Busby.

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Black Fish Finance founder and mortgage broker Leah Busby, who helped Ms Turner buy a house, said saving a deposit was a challenge for most buyers.

“It’s about doing your best to save and then getting good advice and you, or an expert, shopping around to get the best deal you can,” she said.

“Most buyers want to buy in the suburb where they grew up and where their parents still live, and in many cases it’s about broadening that thinking to find more affordable alternatives.”