Home ownership: The gender divide

The financial gap between men and women is closing considerably in recent years, but there still exist many differences when it comes to the UK property market, according to a new study which has been carried out by the Halifax.

According to the bank, the gap between what men and women are paid has narrowed in the last decade. While women have found themselves being paid an average of 43 per cent more since 2002, men have seen an increase of just 36 per cent over the same period.

In spite of this, the amount earned by men (£36,511) is still a fair distance ahead of the £27,006 remuneration that women are awarded for their work.

However, it also reported that despite the fact that women are paid less, they are more likely to be homeowners than men are, as women feel the need to settle for life a lot sooner than men do, meaning that they are more likely to buy.

Ironically though, women are far more pessimistic about their prospects of buying a home, while men are more confident about house prices remaining steady to help them with buying and being able to make a profit on the sale of their home at some time in the future.

Martin Ellis, economist at Halifax, said: "Whilst the economic and financial differences between men and women have narrowed in recent years, significant variations persist. Some of these, such as higher homeownership amongst women, can partly be explained by demographic factors such as the greater number of older women compared with men.

"Women are more cautious regarding equity-related investments and are making less provision for retirement. They are also more pessimistic than men regarding both short-term house price prospects and the likelihood of ever becoming homeowners."

Recently, it was reported by Confused.com that there is now a growing trend for people buying a home with friends rather than waiting until they can afford to purchase with their family in later life.