The number of single women buying homes has nearly trebled in the last 2-3 years

What men want: A woman with a flat of her own

The number of single women buying homes has nearly trebled in the last 2-3 years, and they are much in demand in the marriage mart

Dowry is taboo, but looking for a partner who has her own apartment in Mumbai is only being practical. From magazine editors who make place for their photographer husbands in their Bandra homes, and actresses accommodating their model partners in their Yari Road apartments, to IT mavens wooing their techie partners into their nodal homes in Navi Mumbai, successful women are increasingly playing providers — of the roof — and the men are only too happy to play second fiddle. "Buying a home was the man's prerogative till recently, with the partner joining in as a co-applicant at best, but today single women are making real estate investments on their own. Thanks to better education, high-paying jobs, delayed marriages and longer life expectancies, single women are increasingly emerging as home-buyers," says Andheri-based realty consultant Trisha Sharma, adding that 75% of her clients are successful, independent women who earn their own money and take their own decisions. The stakeholders in the realty sector — brokers, builders and home finance companies — are also waking up to this trend. The numbers are revealing. The average age of the home loan borrower is 35, and the number of sole women applicants has gone up by more than 200% in the last two to three years. "Though the base is relatively small, the increase in percentage of single women buyers clearly reflects the trend that women are going it alone," says the spokesperson of a leading home finance company. "Having a home in her own name gives the woman a sense of achievement and self-confidence," he added. And given the fickle nature of marriage these days, it also gives her the liberty to show the door to the man. Where traditionally women would buy gold jewellery or save up for marriage, today's savvy set believes in making an investment plan before a shopping list. Media professional Dorothy Sequeira bought her flat when she was just 26. "Unlike, say, fixed deposits, real-estate is solid and tangible. It is an investment that one can fall back on during bad times, irrespective of whether one is married or single," says Sequeira, who advises every single woman to buy a flat of her own rather than wait to get a partner before taking a decision. Eventually Sequeira got married at 37, and her 33-year-old partner, who was living as a paying guest, moved into her Mulund apartment. While some take a housing loan and purchase a flat to ensure compulsory savings and asset building, there are others who invest in realty to park the surplus funds. "Purchasing a home gives a sense of security, and what's more secure than living in your own house even after marriage," says IT professional Amrita Nair, adding that having one's own home enhances a woman's equity even when it comes to choosing a life partner. "And when there is already a flat, what's the point in taking a loan and buying another house," says her husband Shankar, who is quite content in Amrita's Seawoods apartment in Navi Mumbai even when her parents come visiting from Kerala.