While women have always been the key decision-makers in the home buying process in India, they now increasingly make independent, individual property purchases, according to the latest ANAROCK Consumer Sentiment Survey from H2 2024. A significant majority of them are end-users, though investors are not far behind. With growing independence and higher disposable incomes, women are increasingly coming to the housing market as convinced investors, says Anuj Puri, Chairman - ANAROCK Group. Our H2 2024 survey finds the end-use-to-investment ratio for women homebuyers at 69:31 against 79:21 in the H2 2022 edition. Even more remarkable is their firm preference for housing over the other popular investment asset classes Indians gravitate to. For at least 70 per cent women survey respondents, real estate is the most preferred investment asset class, against 65 per cent in the H2 2022 edition and 57 per cent in the pre-Covid (H2 2019) survey. Women's preference for stock market investment has declined to just 2 per cent in H2 2024, from over 20 per cent in H2 2022. Considering the significant decline seen in the stock market in recent months in contrast to the bull run in 2022, women have unerringly picked the winning ticket in housing, says Puri. The only other asset class that has seen a notable uptick on their wish list is gold, whose popularity among polled women investors has risen from 8 per cent in the H2 2022 survey to slightly over 12 per cent in the H2 2024 edition. The survey also tracks women homebuyers' budget preferences - in H2 2024 survey. At least 52 per cent women respondents preferred premium or luxury homes priced >Rs 90 lakh. In the H2 2022 survey, about 47 per cent women respondents picked this budget category. 33 per cent aspiring women homebuyers look for properties priced between Rs 90 lakh and Rs1.5 crore, while 11% prefer homes priced between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 2.5 crore. Interestingly, at least 8 per cent prefer to buy homes priced >Rs 2.5 crore - a strong testament to the growth of India's women HNI contingent. Demand for newly launched properties is on the rise - over 18 per cent of the survey's women respondents now prefer under-construction homes, against 10 per cent in the H2 2022 survey. Their preference for the instant gratification of ready-to-move-in homes had declined to 29 per cent in the H2 2024 survey, from 48 per cent in H2 2022. This is a clear indicator of a strengthening investment approach among India's women property buyers. It also highlights that the fact that most new launches are by large and listed developers gives them confidence to back cheaper under-construction properties with an eye on future profits.