Blog

Here’s to wishing all of you a very happy International Women’s Day, from the team here at Calla Property. We celebrate International Women’s Day each year to commemorate the achievements of women throughout history and across nations. This year, the theme of the day is #PressforProgress – focusing on accelerating gender parity and inclusiveness worldwide. With a strong global momentum striving for gender parity, and with more and more women across the globe; making gains day-by-day, the day’s theme highlights a strong call to motivate and unite friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive. Now let’s consider property investment for a moment, specifically; women in property investment… Gone are the days where property investment is dominated by men. Now nearly half (47%) of Australians who own investment property are women, according to an analysis of data from the ATO by the Property Council of Australia. The rise of female property investors can be attributed to their increasing interest in taking control of their finances, with their main concern being security in retirement. This comes as no surprise as the current full-time gender pay gap is 15.3% and the average Australian woman will need to work 12 years longer to have the same amount of superannuation funds as her male counterpart So what do women need to know before diving into property investment? Here are our Managing Director’s top 3 tips: 1) Seek Good Advice The property investment industry is largely unregulated in Australia so it can be difficult to differentiate between the ‘experts’ who say they are research-based and those that actually do valuable research that will help you to invest in a high performing property. Ask for detailed information on their research – How do they research? What do they look for? Is their research only based on historic data or do they pay for research from property houses? Is the source of their information from the developer? Understanding these questions and the answers you’re given, will help you choose whose advice you should follow. 2) Understand Your Cashflow Capital growth is the main reason why property investment is such a great wealth creation tool. However, if you can’t afford to hold onto the property, you’ll never realise it’s growth. Make sure you understand the income and expenses on the property before tax. If it is too cash flow negative, if it affects your lifestyle too much you may be forced to sell the property. 3) Do Your Own Research Make sure that you verify, as best you can, any recommendation you are given. There are many online resources like realestate.com.au and domain.com.au that have historic data that could help you to better understand the research and recommendation given to you. Talk to trusted friends and family and other trusted advisors like your mortgage broker, accountant and financial planner. Susan Farquhar, our MD, is passionate about ensuring that her clients have enough money in retirement. This is even more important for women who retire with so much less super in their accounts (that they would have to work for a further 12 years to have the same balance as their male counterparts). At Calla Property we can help you make up those long, tedious 12 years through property investment. A man is not a solid financial plan! Please call us today on (02) 9016 2852 to ensure that you will have enough money to retire on. It's never too late to get started, although the earlier you do, the better off you'll be.