Females are dominating the buy-to-let market

New figures reveal women now account for 47% of the 2.5 million buy-to-let investors in the UK – which is an increase from 46% in the previous year.

When it comes to the actual number of residential property landlords who are women, the most recent data available – from the 2017/2018 tax year – revealed this figure had increased 5% to 1.2 million.

This thinning gender gap amongst buy-to-let investors is likely to be because women prefer lower risk investment options.

According to a study published in the European Journal of Finance by Dr Ylva Baeckström of Kings College women, generally, had a ‘less aggressive appetite’ for risk than men.

The transparency of buy-to-let compared to other types of investment, along with the regular pay outs and low-price volatility meant it offered a lower risk option which women may well be more attracted to than other assets.

Indeed, just 43% of stocks and shares ISA investors were women and females represented just 8.5% of cryptocurrency investments, according to HM Revenue and Customs data.

What’s more, the share of income women receive through buy-to-let investments is higher than through pensions.

Women received 43% of all income from buy-to-let investments – which is £14.8 billion of a total of a total of £34.2 billion. Meanwhile, women only receive 37% of total £125.8 billion pension income earned by retirees.

Buy-to-let property is popular across investors of all different risk appetites. It is a sensible way to diversify an investment portfolio and does not require in-depth knowledge of accounting rules that you might need for investing in shares.