How women are taking back the world of property investment

Statistics from the Property Council of Australia reveal that 47 per cent of investment properties are owned by women, but the construction industry is still by and large a man’s world, making it difficult for women to get ahead when it comes to improving or repairing their properties.

But now there’s a new information portal called Build in Common, which is seeking to break down the barriers and help women understand basic construction principles so they can succeed in an area they’re passionate about.

As an online platform and marketplace, Build in Common will supply a “digital toolbox” of information kits that explain specific areas of construction in an easy-to-understand format.

First in line is the Kitchen Toolkit. At $149 for the digital version and $349 for a hard copy, the Kitchen Toolkit “will give women the confidence to optimise every improvement they make to their property” rather than over-capitalising by outsourcing every aspect of a development.

Read more: Someone paid nearly $1 million for this renovation nightmare

“The construction sector is the most male dominated industry in the country. It has a jargon that often locks women out of the conversation — we are giving them the keys,” Justine Teggelove, CEO of a Melbourne-based commercial construction firm and co-founder of Build in Common, says about the initiative.

Teggelove and her business partner, entrepreneur Pia Turcinov, have had numerous requests for more information about property development, and the pair felt that women shouldn’t have to stifle their potential equity simply because they don’t understand basic construction jargon.

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“Women are capable of more than just painting and buying soft furnishing,” Turcinov says. “We want to help women project manage the trades for their renovation, or even have the confidence to coordinate an entire subdivision or commercial development.”

Have you ever felt like you couldn’t tackle a property project because you didn’t understand all of the industry jargon? Would you be more comfortable managing investment properties if you had more information available to you?