By John Burns Real Estate Consulting As I head to Urban Land Institute’s Fall Meeting, ready to present at four councils, I ponder the rise of women in the working world. The ULI Councils, which are some of the most prestigious real estate industry organizations, are dominated by gray-haired men like myself, even years after passing a rule that women “won’t count” against the limit, in an attempt to recruit more women. Interestingly, the leadership of three of the four councils is now dominated by women. At the last ULI, the Young Leaders presentation at one of the councils was 100 percent women. Hmm. I am going to bet that the makeup of real estate industry leadership will become increasingly female over the next few decades, not because of affirmative action efforts, but purely because women are getting ahead. Consider these four trends: 37% of women graduate from college vs. 31% of men 38% of women earn more than their husband, up from 24% in 1987 Since 1973, real female incomes are up 34%, and real male incomes are down 5% 21% of non-working dads aged 35–44 cite child care as the primary reason, up from 2% 20 years ago What does this mean for real estate and housing decisions? I am also interested, obviously, in what this means for housing decisions. For years, homebuilders have told us that the woman is the primary housing and homebuying decision-maker. Does the career woman want a different floor plan from what exists in the resale market? Does the stay-at-home dad want a different floor plan? Is a career woman a driving factor in the preference to live urban or in suburbs close to work? Our team members have been noticing shifts throughout the country, and we look forward to discussing these trends with you at ULI and elsewhere. This post courtesy of John Burns Real Estate Consulting. Visit them here for more information or call call (949) 870-1210.
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