Women want to own homes but loans remain harder to access

Women want to own homes

• Women now favor real estate over gold or fixed deposits
• Only 11 percent of home loan approvals in 2025 went to women
• Women take smaller home loans due to income and credit gaps

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More Indian women today are working, investing in mutual funds and buying insurance. Increasingly, they are also looking at real estate as a way to build long-term wealth.

A recent consumer survey by ANAROCK Group highlights this shift in aspirations. The share of women looking to buy homes priced above Rs 90 lakh has jumped to 61 percent, compared with 25 percent in 2019, suggesting that more women are targeting higher-value properties as their incomes and financial independence grow.

Surveys also suggest that real estate remains a preferred asset class for many women. According to the same ANAROCK survey, over 71 percent of women respondents said they prefer residential real estate as an investment, far ahead of alternatives such as gold (18 percent) or fixed deposits (13 percent).

But when it comes to actually accessing housing credit, the numbers tell a different story.

A recent report by Urban Money shows that women accounted for just 11 percent of the 56,523 home loans approved in 2025 across 13 major housing markets tracked on the platform.

That works out to around 6,200 approvals for women, compared with more than 50,000 total approvals in the dataset.

The gap is striking given women make up nearly half of India’s population and accounted for around 30 percent of property registrations in 2025.

Women borrow smaller amounts

The gap is not just in approvals. It also shows up in how much women borrow.

According to the report, the average home loan size for women was Rs 23 lakh in 2025, compared with Rs 29 lakh for men, about Rs 6 lakh lower per borrower.

A big reason is income. Home loan eligibility is closely linked to salary and existing financial obligations. Lower incomes usually mean lower loan eligibility.

Why many women face loan rejections

The report lists four common reasons why home loan applications from women get rejected:

• Insufficient income
• Unstable employment history
• Low credit score
• Lack of credit history

These factors are often linked to broader workplace trends.

Women account for around 28 percent of India’s corporate workforce, and the number drops sharply at senior levels where salaries are higher. At the top, women hold only about 8 percent of CEO positions.

This income gap affects how much lenders are willing to lend.

Career breaks can also affect loan eligibility. Many women step away from work temporarily for caregiving or maternity, which can create gaps in employment history.

Credit behaviour also plays a role. Women often borrow less through credit cards or personal loans. While that may indicate financial caution, it can also lead to thin credit histories, which sometimes makes lenders hesitant.

Big differences across cities

The data also shows wide differences between cities. Women actually borrowed more than men in two markets, Gurugram and Noida.

• In Gurugram, women took loans averaging Rs 64.5 lakh, compared with Rs 57.8 lakh for men.
• In Noida, the average loan for women was Rs 32.1 lakh, slightly higher than Rs 29.4 lakh for men.

One reason could be joint home purchases, where women are included as co-owners to benefit from stamp duty concessions or tax benefits.

At the other end, Chennai recorded the lowest average loan size for women at Rs 12.7 lakh, pointing to a much larger borrowing gap.

Cities such as Thane, however, showed relatively similar loan sizes between men and women.

Home loans remain harder

Over the past decade, more women have started managing their finances independently. Many are investing in mutual funds, buying insurance and planning retirement.

But this progress has not yet translated into equal participation in housing finance.

Home loans are long-term commitments, often 15 to 25 years, and lenders place a lot of importance on stable income and a strong credit history. Even small differences in these factors can affect approval chances.

What women borrowers can do

While some barriers are structural, there are a few steps borrowers can take to improve their chances of getting a home loan;

• Build an independent credit history: Using a credit card responsibly or taking small loans and repaying them on time helps build a credit profile.
• Maintain a good credit score: Timely repayments and low credit utilisation can gradually improve creditworthiness.
• Keep income documents ready: Salary slips, tax returns and bank statements help lenders assess repayment capacity more easily.
• Plan large purchases early: Improving credit scores, saving for a down payment and maintaining stable employment can increase loan eligibility.
• Use joint loans carefully: Applying with a co-borrower can increase loan eligibility, but building an independent credit record is equally important.

The bottom line

Women’s participation in India’s financial system has increased steadily. But the housing loan market still shows a clear gap.

With women accounting for just 11 percent of loan approvals in the dataset, the difference between the desire to own a home and access to credit remains significant.

For many borrowers, the first step toward closing that gap may simply be building a stronger credit profile well before applying for a home loan.