Absa index shows women hold 51,8% of property investments among buyers aged 25 to 34
Younger women are moving past homeownership into portfolio building, even as overall confidence in the property market slips a point to 87%.
Absa Group reports that women now make up the majority of property investors in the 25 to 34 age band, at 51,8%, and account for 48,1% of investors who own three or more properties, up from 46,7% in the same quarter two years earlier.
The figures come from the bank’s Homeowners Sentiment Index (HSI) for the second quarter of 2026, published on 25 August. The index has tracked consumer confidence in the South African property market since 2015.
The shift is most visible among younger buyers. Women in that cohort are no longer only entering the market as homeowners, they are accumulating investment stock. Absa’s own reading of the data is that this could become a more significant feature of the market over time.
“What we have seen is that consumers and investors are well aware of the ongoing economic and political shifts around them, and they are cognisant that these changes will influence their buying power and the financial commitments of homeownership,” said Nondumiso Ncapai, Managing Executive: Home Loans at Absa Group.
Confidence slips a point
The investment gains sit against a softer overall reading. Consumer confidence in the property market fell one percentage point to 87% in the second quarter of 2026.
Every subindex declined over the quarter. Buying sentiment dropped 7 percentage points, renovating 6, investing 5, renting 4 and selling 3. The fall in buying sentiment is the largest quarterly drop since the fourth quarter of 2022.
Respondents named the high cost of living, concerns about the economy, elevated interest rates and high property prices as the main drags on confidence.
“Affordability is the single biggest constraint on property ownership,” Ncapai said. “Respondents repeatedly link the difficulty of buying and keeping property to high costs relative to income. Many cannot afford deposits, bonds and rising ongoing costs such as rates, levies, utilities and maintenance.”
The consequence is visible in behaviour rather than sentiment alone. Some buyers are delaying or abandoning purchases, downscaling, or selling, even while they continue to describe property as desirable.
Rates, safety and the cost of staying
The index also records how the wider economic environment is feeding into decisions. Respondents linked bond repayments, possible rate increases and strict lending criteria to financial stress and a higher perceived risk of entering or staying in the market.
Crime and area safety were cited as major considerations. Respondents associated high crime levels with lower property values, difficulty selling and higher security costs, and many said they favour secure estates or better-policed areas when choosing where to buy.
Absa’s position is that the asset class has not lost its appeal, only that the case for it is being tested harder.
“Many South Africans still see property as a safe long-term investment with the potential to appreciate in value and build wealth,” Ncapai said. “But that value is now being judged more carefully against factors such as location, demand, political confidence, service delivery and expectations for the future.”
What the numbers mean for a buyer
The practical effect for anyone weighing a purchase is that the cost of carrying a bond now competes with the cost of everything else in the household budget. Rates, levies, utilities and maintenance are part of the calculation before a single repayment is made.
For younger women already in the market, the index suggests the constraint is not access to the idea of investing. It is the deposit, the lending criteria and the monthly cost of holding the asset once it is bought.
The full HSI report is available on Absa’s Homeowner Sentiment Index site, at https://www.absa.africa/our-stories/our-voices/2026/women-now-make-up-majority-of-young-property-investors-absa-hsi-finds.
