CURs Top 4 Facts on Females in Real Estate
By: Diana Petramala and Valeriya Sokolenko
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March 6, 2020
In recognition of International Women’s Day on March 8th, CUR dug into Statistics Canada’s data to look at differences between females and males in real estate in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) and Ontario.
Here are our top 4 findings:
1. There are more female than male residential property owners in the Toronto CMA
- There are roughly 130,000 more female than male owners of residential properties in the Toronto CMA (see Figure 1);
- 36% of the female population are homeowners, while 33% of the male population are homeowners; and
- The higher ownership rate among females likely reflects the fact that there are more widowed females than males.
2. Females on average own homes that are marginally more expensive than males
- This is true for females who own single-detached houses. The average property value for a female-owned single-detached house was $850,000 in 2018, compared to $830,000 for males; and
- There is very little price difference between female and male owned residential properties for all other housing types.
3. Despite their higher rate of homeownership, more female-led households live in unaffordable housing (are in core housing need[1]) (see Figure 2)
- The wedge is biggest for households led by a female aged 25 to 44 (single persons and single-mothers) and 65 years and up (widows); and
- Females on average still only earn 70 cents for every dollar earned by a male in a similar occupation. This large income gap contributes to the ability of females to attain affordable housing.
4. There are an equal number of females as males in service jobs related to real estate, but the construction industry is still highly dominated by males
- Industries tied to services in real estate and leasing are some of the few that have an equal split in employment between males and females in Ontario (see Figure 4).
- This is less true for the construction industry, where employment is still heavily dominated by males (see Figure 5).
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Sources:
[1] Statistics Canada defines a household as being in 'core housing need' if its housing falls below at least one of the adequacy (doesn’t need major repairs), affordability (doesn’t cost more than 30% of household income) or suitability (has enough bedrooms for family structure) standards and if it would have to spend 30% or more of its total before-tax income to pay the median rent of acceptable alternative local housing which meets all three housing standards. Most households in core housing need pay more than 30% of their income on shelter costs.
Diana Petramala is Senior Researcher at Toronto Metropolitan University's Centre for Urban Research and Land Development (CUR) in Toronto.
Valeriya Sokolenko is a Research Assistant at Toronto Metropolitan University's Centre for Urban Research and Land Development (CUR) in Toronto.