Who wears the purchasing pants?

As new data from the Statista Global Consumer Survey 2018 shows, the answer to this question depends somewhat on the kind of purchases we’re talking about.

When asked in which categories they personally make the purchasing decisions, there were some clear splits between men and women. The largest gap was for daily consumer goods such as food and drink. 81 percent of women said they make the decisions in this area, compared to 65 percent of men – a difference of 16 percentage points. On the other end of the scale, men are apparently more often in the driving seat when it comes to buying a vehicle. In this category, 50 percent of women and 64 percent of men said they made the decision themselves.

Real estate was the category with the second largest balance in favor of men. Um.

What seems to be missing from this survey is what I would hope would be the most frequent answer: “we make those decisions together on any major expenditure.”

Note: 30 percent of respondents said they were either single/unmarried or divorced/widowed at the time of survey. The results are therefore not completely representative of relationship dynamics, but rather gender differences generally.

If you – or somebody you know – are considering buying or selling a home and have questions about the market and/or current home prices, please contact Andrew Oliver on 617.834.8205 or Kathleen Murphy on 603.498.6817.

If you are looking to buy, we will contact you immediately when a house that meets your needs is available. In this market you need to have somebody looking after your interests.

Are you thinking about selling? Read  Which broker should I choose to sell my house?

Andrew Oliver and Kathleen Murphy are Realtors with Harborside Sotheby’s International Realty. Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated

@OliverReports