For 33-year-old Shalini Natraj, "investment and stability" were the prime reasons for buying a 1,300-sqft 2BHK apartment in Jakkur, a suburb of Bangalore, for Rs 50 lakh. "I'd been living on rent for sometime and I wanted to own a space. I didn't enjoy the idea of someone coming up to me and asking me to vacate or being told not to make any changes to the house. This is my space, and I can do what I want with it," Shalini, a senior HR manager at American retailer Target's Bangalore office, says. "Owning a flat gives me an immense sense of pride and achievement. It feels great to have used my money in a good way. I feel in control of things."
Om Ahuja, CEO-residential services at realty adviser, Jones Lang LaSalle India (JLL), says, "Women are more independent and career opportunities for them have increased manifold. Many women professionals now choose to put career before marriage. Such women see the advantages of purchasing investment-grade homes, which has led to an increase in demand for residential units from this segment."
Typically, single women below 35 are looking at properties priced in the Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh range. For Latika Gulyani, a 34-year-old event manager in Mumbai who recently started her own firm, having to answer landlords' intrusive questions was the push needed to buy her own 1.5BHK apartment in Goregaon. "Many of them impose all kinds of rules like men not allowed, no parties, etc, especially if they figure out you're from the entertainment industry. If you're an independent, financially secure woman, why would you put up with that," asks Gulyani, who moved into her apartment earlier this year and is loving the independence and stability of owning the roof over her head.
Navin M Raheja, CMD, Raheja Developers and president of the National Real EstateDevelopment Council, says, "Five years ago, such a customer base didn't exist. But now single women account for up to 3% of our total sales." The trend is getting a lift with banks previously hesitant to grant standalone loans to single women now customizing schemes specific to this category. Women make better clients in comparison with men and stick to repayment schedules, say bankers.
Another trend is of single women buying in groups rather than alone. "There is a kind of herd mentality. Say, if one woman buys flat A, then her friends will buy flat B, C, and D in the same building. This stems from the need for safety and comfort that single women prefer," says a senior official at DLF.
Nandini Sircar, an editor with a publishing house in Delhi, corroborates this. Sircar, 31, bought a 3-bedroom flat in Noida Extension after a colleague booked one in the same complex. Although Sircar plans to continue living in her parents' West Delhi home, she wanted to "spend money fruitfully" and make sure her income went towards creating an asset that would show value appreciation. "My parents were very encouraging of my decision and had, in fact, been egging me on for a few years to invest my money wisely," she admits.
An interesting inference made by a leading developer in Bangalore, who didn't wish to be named, was "with divorce rates on the rise and the fact that many single women see their married peers going through failed marriages, asset creation in the form of real estate has become a priority". Puravankara Projects COO Jackbastian Nazareth says, "Given their lifestyle, many single women feel it's important to have a home of their own. They are very focused and know what they want. We have seen an incremental increase of around 15% to 20% in the number of single women buying homes."
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