Real Estate for Girls?

Can I say that?  As the father of two beautiful, brilliant and successful daughters I think it might be OK.  At least they haven’t complained to me about being referred to from time to time as girls, but then maybe they’re just going easy on their old man.  I mention this because in my myriad emails this week I saw a comment about a new website for girls and it’s all about real estate; it’s aptly named Girls Guide to Real Estate.

Do we need this?  If you have ever been to a meeting, or a class, or any sort of gathering related to real estate then you know that it is an industry already dominated by women; or is it?  It certainly seems that way if you take things at face value.  And if the industry is dominated by women professionally, do we need a website that focuses specifically on real estate for girls?  It seems like what we really might need is a website focused on real estate for boys.  Of course just looking around at a Board of Realtors meeting or a class in my office isn’t exactly a scientific study, so I thought I had better dig a little deeper.

Girls Rule!  Well what do you know, it’s true; girls do rule the day.  In almost every measure females outpace males in real estate.  There are more female agents than male agents in every state; that’s pretty amazing.  The only stat I found where the guys out scored the girls was in the number of homes listed.  Interestingly though, the ladies overwhelmingly listed more expensive homes.  I’m not quite sure what that means, but it could be that sellers believe that women have a better understanding of the finer things in life.  It’s certainly hard to disagree with that.  But back to the question of why is there a need for a new website targeting girls in an industry already dominated by females? 

Yes we need this!  I spent my career before real estate in the home furnishings business, another industry that is heavily influenced by women.  I started out on the wholesale end dealing largely with male buyers.  It wasn’t until I moved to the retail side, in the trenches as it were, that I realized who was really driving the business.  Women not only work in home furnishings in large numbers, but most of the ultimate buying decisions are made by women.  And guys, if you don’t think the women in your life are heavily influencing buying decisions in real estate then you haven’t been paying attention.  Houses and furniture certainly seem to be made for each other don’t they?  Both are pretty big ticket items, and the purchase process can become very emotionally charged.  And these are decisions that usually have long term ramifications.  I think it might be a good idea if we all moved a little beyond the “prices on a map” thought process for buying and selling residential real estate, and considered how much more is involved in the process.

 

Maybe it is time.  We went through the housing bubble a few years ago when it really was sometimes just a chess game with other people’s money.  People were buying houses just to sell them in a couple years at a profit.  It wasn’t so much about the house, as it was about the turnaround time on the investment.  I think today’s market forces are going to be quite different now that the foreclosures and other distressed properties are beginning to go away.  There have been a lot of buyers and sellers on the sidelines in recent years, but they won’t be there forever.  And I think a lot of those folks will be looking for their next home, not just a 24 month investment vehicle with a good looking front door.  And women will surely drive a lot of this next wave of real estate buying and selling, as they always have.  So whether you’re a real estate pro, a home buyer or seller, and whether you’re girl or a boy; if you want to see what’s going on out there I would recommend you visit http://girlsguidetorealestate.com/.  As for the boys guide to real estate website idea, I think I’m just going to wait for further instructions from the girls.

 

 Just FYI, I am not affiliated with the website girls guide to real estate. I just saw it and liked it.