The rise of the savvy female investor

1. The rise of the savvy female investor Michelle GabrielPost-doctoral Research FellowSchool of Sociology and Social WorkUniversity of Tasmania

2. Overview • Feminism and the housing question • Propertied women and domestic life • New ideal: Aspirational woman! • Young, female housing investors

3. Feminism and the housing question

4. Feminism and the housing question • Women actively produce the forms of femininity through which they are also controlled. • Concrete instances of gender domination and how these particular situations have become normalized. • Continual negotiation and restructuring of gender relations.

5. Propertied women Land grants for women Inter-war flat purchases Democratisation of home ownership Rise of housing investment

6. Australian domestic life Domestic service or hard labour Austerity and rise of housing economics Open plan, white goods, housewife Work/life balance

7. Life-course and housing career Delay in leaving home Decline in marriage Increase in group hhld Deferral of first birth Delay in home ownership

8. Media Analysis Aim: To document new discourses centred on women and housing. Data collection: • Australian Property Investor (1998-2001). • Women’s Magazines - Vogue, Marie Claire. • Websites - Wizard Women and Girl’s Guide to Real Estate • Newspapers – The Age, SMH.

9. New ideal: Aspirational woman! For our chicks in bricks, property investment has little to do with the boom. It’s simply about taking care of yourself – Australian Property Investor, July 2004. You need a cool head, patience, a fist full of dollars and sound advice… Smart girls can and do get into the market – Vogue, April 2003. Men may come and men may go but I will look after myself – Demographer, Bernard Salt.

10. Investment advice You can achieve financial security and still be every bit a woman. Always have a proper legal partnership agreement before investing with anyone, even a lover. Never go out looking when you are stoned, drunk, ill, suffering from PMT or with a hangover. http://www.girlsguide.biz/realestate/tips.htm

11. Investment culture Understanding how important a bit of guidance can be, Monika has begun to train her younger sister in the world of property investment. “She’s only six years old. …She already knows all about negative gearing and capital gains. It’s so cute.” – 19 years, Monika Mankowska, February 2005. “Property investment is not only a financial tool for Sally, it is also a passion that she shares with her close colleagues and friends. “A few of my friends have now formed an unofficial property club and we get together for coffee to discuss our latest finds – for us, it’s an enjoyable pastime”. –42 years, Sally Doyle, Wizard women website.

12. In-depth interviews Age: 26-36 years Single, de facto Educated Middle income Mixed socio-economic background 8 owner-occupiers, 2 investors Inner city apartments, houses

13. Mothers and Daughters Housing pathway: Marriage, family. Career, travel and lifestyle. Home: Self, locus of activity. Interchangeable, financial security, step towards a family (?) home.

14. Mothers and Daughters Oh I don’t have kids for starters and I’m not looking after a husband. I’m independent. I do what I want when I want. She certainly didn’t. In some ways maybe not so different. You know she’s a big cook, I’m a big cook but I guess home for her was more of a place of caring and caring for others and caring for dad. …..And she was more kind of inwardly focused in the house. She did the cooking, she sewed, she cleaned, whereas I suppose for me I’ve always had big gardens and I’ve always put my energies into the garden as opposed to inside the house. Yeah I suppose I see this place more as a sanctuary then she might have seen our house. I don’t know. (36 years, 1bdrm unit, Northcote).

15. Accessing housing finance • Positive experiences with finance. Few barriers. Surprised by borrowing capacity. • Positive feedback from friends and family. Invest as soon as possible. • Centrality of family in process for single women. Key support, often guarantor.

16. Accessing housing finance Very easy. No there weren’t any barriers or anything. It was pretty much one day just going in there and seeing him and then I had it. (34 years, 3 bdrm house, Wheelers Hill). Yeah far too easy. The process was far too easy. (30 years, attached terrace, group purchase, Fitzroy). I rang her (mortgage broker). She came over with her laptop and did the comparisons. She did all that stuff. She organised the finance. I didn’t do anything. (36 years, 1bdrm unit, Northcote).

17. Security, security, security • Short-term financial security - high repayments, family support, insurance. • Long-term financial security - retirement. • Financial security independent of relationships. • Security of tenure. • Gift/ security for children. • Secure property, secure neighbourhood. • Secure investment/ long-term growth.

18. Security, security, security I guess like most people I have issues of security. I want to have future security. It’s kind of perfect for that because I think surely I can pay it off by the time I’m 90, by the time I’m retired. If I don’t ever have a relationship or for some reason that relationship falls out, if I have this as my security then it’s like when I’m an old little 80 year old biddy walking around then I’ve got somewhere that’s mine, that no-one’s going to kick me out of. (27 years old, 2 bdrm flat, Brunswick).

19. Joys of owning • Housing and upward mobility. Transition between generations. • Pleasures of ownership, control of space, security and financial management. • Gained financial literacy through the process of buying.

20. Ethical female investors?