Women in emerging countries including the Philippines, Bangladesh and Mexico are dispelling the myth that men drive the house-hunting process in these regions.

Leading property portal Jumia House (meqasa.com in Ghana) made available new research that shows the majority of home-buyers in these countries are women. The figures are based on an analysis of search behaviour on the Jumia House website, which is active in 27 countries in the emerging markets.

The analysis reveals that more than 60 percent of home-buyers in Mexico are female, while the majority of house-hunters in the Philippines are women. In Bangladesh, couples search for property together, but the final decision is most often made by the female.

The research also shed light on the average age of home-buyers in countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. While the average buyer is aged up to 50 years in Sri Lanka and up to 60 in Colombia, those purchasing property elsewhere can be much younger. In Jordan, the typical buyer is aged 28-38 years, while in Mexico they often fall in the 25-34 range. In Indonesia, the average buyer is a 27-year-old male.

Jumia House’s Global Co-Founder and Managing Director, Paul Philipp Hermann, said: “These findings dispel some of the stereotypes around who the typical buyer is in emerging markets, where men are often seen as dominating the house-hunting process. Women in these countries are becoming more active in choosing where their family settles down.”

Earlier this year, meqasa released research into the rate of home-ownership in its markets. The analysis found a strong bias towards renting in some countries, including the Philippines where over two thirds (69%) of Filipinos would prefer to rent rather than buy property.

Elsewhere, such as in Pakistan, home-ownership remains the norm. The study found 72% of Pakistanis are buying property, opting to purchase their own home instead of renting.