A survey released to celebrate International Women’s Day has revealed that women are better borrowers than men.
Suncorp delved into their customer data and found that women were growing in influence within the property market: in fact they made up 48% of single borrower home loans at Suncorp, and at a lower loan to value ratio than men, meaning that they made more deposits and borrowed less.
“Even before the pandemic began, almost half of Suncorp single borrower home loan applications were female, however the growth in applications and loan amounts have increased significantly,” said Suncorp’s Executive General Manager Home Lending, Bruce Rush. “Five years ago, the average loan for a woman was $240K and today, it’s $275,000.”
“Several factors have contributed to this including, customers saving and depositing more during COVID-19 which has allowed them to fast-track their home loan applications, taking advantage of our 1.89% fixed rate home loan offer, or opting for our Back to Basics home loan, which offers a low variable rate in exchange for a no-frills home loan while still having access to very important features.”
In particular, a growth market was the vital 25-30 year-old demographic of first home buyers, with a higher number of single female borrowers living in the big cities.
“Historically, many of our customers aged 25-30 have either purchased their first home, or are discussing ways they can get into the property market with our home lending team,” said Rush. “However, strong female independence coupled with actively pursuing their career goals, means they have an opportunity to establish themselves financially.”
As for being better borrowers, Rush said it was all down to the loan to value ratio. “A loan to value ratio is determined by the amount a customer deposits, so if your down payment is larger, you are borrowing less,” he said. “Our data tells us over the past year, women have had a lower loan to value ratio than men, meaning women are making larger down payments, enabling them to borrow less.”
