Anita Kurup
For long, owning a home for an Indian woman meant having the ancestral property or house bequeathed through parents or helping their husbands with building or buying a home. Today, as more women become financially independent, they are looking at homes as a solid asset. As married professionals, more women are either taking on the financial load of a home loan and the various other costs associated with buying and maintaining a home or sharing it with their spouses. As single women, owning a home is fast overtaking cars as a first asset. After all, a self-owned home is considered as security anchor in India.
About one-fifth of home buyers are single women and this figure will continue to rise. More women are looking at property instead of cars and gold as property offers better stability, security, tax breaks as well as market appreciation. Better exposure to detailed information about projects and developers is helping women form an opinion and are making them more confident in making the life-changing decision of owning a home.
Another aspect that deters women is that real estate is often associated with processes that are time consuming and dense. While developers are becoming aware of the role played by women in influencing home buying decisions, there is a case to be made to re-strategize real estate sales pitches to factor in women. Similar to how FMCG brands use strong emotional relationships with women to push sales, the Indian real estate developers can work towards building “homes” rather than “houses”. A strong emotional connect resonates with women and evokes brand loyalty.
Here are some ideas that will enable the industry to connect firmly with women customers:
- Clearly list project prices
- More transparency in the buying process
- Walk them through the total cost of ownership
- Mention maintenance costs upfront
- Sensitize agents to communicate with women customers
- Once the deal is done, don’t let the relationship conclude as well. Some form of personalized note of gratitude will win you form a strong brand connect.
So what do women look for while buying a home?
- A safe neighbourhood makes for an important selling point. Women prefer apartments that offer adequate and safe parking.
- Community matters. Does the locality offer back-up support for women? Are there schools nearby? Are their crèches or day care available?
- How does the transit infrastructure rank in the locality?
- What is the storage space offered? Does the kitchen have enough cabinets?
- Reputation of the developer is a deciding factor
Women look at aspects of home that encourages control over clutter and enables them to spend more time with family as well as save money.