Martian Homes for Men, Venusian Homes for Women

Men and women have always had their differences, and buying a house is no exception. This is an important fact to take into consideration especially if you are going to choose a house with your spouse or partner.

Here are a couple of points to think about, courtesy of a 1,000-respondent, omnibus phone survey by Coldwell Banker Real Estate:

Speed of decisions

Surprisingly enough, it is the women that make the faster decisions when it comes to buying a house. The fairer sex is more likely to decide on a house the day they walk into it, while men need more time and more visits to make a final decision.

Proximity to job and family

Women prefer their houses to be near to their extended family member over their jobs, while significantly fewer men prefer the opposite – to find a home nearer to their jobs than to extended family.

Individual financial decisions

More men would like to think they ‘wear the pants’ when it comes to major financial decisions in buying a house, although there are some women that think the same way as well. Curiously enough, most of the respondents that said this were more likely to think they make the major decisions – not their partners.

There are, however, some things where men and women agree on without much of a fuss. Here are some of the more prominent areas where both sexes see eye-to-eye on:

Mutual financial decisions

More men might want to think they have the final say in financial matters, but an even higher percentage of couples prefer to share the responsibility of making a major financial decision. They say it is mutual, and that both partners come to a conclusion together.

Use of spare rooms

If a person will choose what to do with an extra room, both men and women would stick to practical answers – bedrooms, studies and dens in that order of prevalence. There are respondents that said they would like to convert the spare room into a recreation, and men makes up the majority of this small group of respondents. It looks like men really do want their own little ‘man caves’ of pool tables, darts and pinball machines after all.

Security

A high percentage of both men and women are prepared to back out of a promising house if safety becomes an issue, although this is more observable in women than in men.

Now here’s the question: what does this all mean?

These differences and similarities all have a part to play when a couple chooses to buy a house of their own. Give them special attention and it will be easier for you to understand what matters for your partner. Ignore them, though, and you will definitely create friction when you and your partner are out looking for a home.

Just don’t forget to actually talk to your partner before you go ahead and make a decision. These statistics help you understand what’s going on, but it will take a deeper level of connection for you to understand what’s going on in your partner’s head!