Saving for a healthy deposit and qualifying for a home loan is challenging enough in the present housing market environment for buyers with dual incomes. But, single women are making it work somehow on their own, and in a big way.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) pored through its research dating back to 1981, and found that among all homebuyers then, 73% were married couples, 11% were single women, and 10% were single men. Now, according to the organization’s latest data in its report, “2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers,” 62% of all homebuyers are married couples, 20% are single women, and just 8% are single men.
Among first-time homebuyers specifically, single women stand out even more, comprising 24% (nearly one out of four) of those purchasing homes today. So, it's a wise mortgage originator, indeed, who chooses to target this demographic.
Single women homebuyers are "likely a growing segment of the market," Dr. Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research at NAR, told National Mortgage Professional. "I don't think this is something that's going to go away anytime soon. Single women have clearly shown that they want and desire homeownership, a home of their own."
“Today, single women are surpassing all odds in the housing market by purchasing homes while having lower household incomes in an increasingly unaffordable housing market,” Lautz wrote in recent article.
In addition, Lautz noted, “What is striking about single women homebuyers is that it was not until 1974 that women were legally allowed to obtain a mortgage without a cosigner” in the United States.
Part of the reason behind the rise over the past several decades in single women homebuyers is that fewer people today are getting married, she pointed out. And, there’s this as well: single women have children living with them more often than men do.
“Single women are more likely to have children under the age of 18 in the home and [are] slightly more likely to purchase a multi-generational home,” according to Lautz. “Women may value the stability of homeownership in both scenarios.”
Lautz expounded on that point in her conversation with NMP. "I can't speak for all women," she emphasized, "but I do think that when we know that there are children within a home, [homeownership] may remove the 'unknowns.'" That includes things like knowing exactly where you're going to be living, knowing how much your mortgage will be, and having a stable school district, versus having those things potentially in flux as a renter, she explained.
Succeeding despite adversity
Whatever the reasons and rationales behind their home purchases, NAR’s research shows women face a steeper climb to homeownership — thanks, in part, to the old glass ceiling. Among single individuals, the typical first-time male homebuyer today earns $87,500, while the typical first-time female homebuyer has income of $71,300.
For repeat homebuyers, the differential is even more pronounced: those figures are $91,000 and $75,000 for single men and women, respectively.
Given that information and other factors, including that the median age of single first-time homebuyers is 34 for men and 40 for women, it’s clear women “are ambitious about achieving homeownership — and willing to make sacrifices to do so,” Lautz wrote.
"We know for all first-time homebuyers, it's incredibly difficult now to enter into homeownership," Lautz told NMP. "There are high home prices [and a] lack of inventory — but then also, think about increased rental costs and student loan debt, childcare costs."
"All of these factors can hold back purchasing," she continued. "So, to see women purchasing with a household income that's essentially $16,000 less than what we see for single men is extraordinary." Even against all those odds, Lautz added that the single woman homebuyer is still finding a way to make that home purchase, "and we can see she's doing so by cutting expenses on everything in her life, whether that's nonessential goods [or] entertainment, and even taking a second job."
"She's willing to make these financial sacrifices and lifestyle sacrifices to be able to achieve her priority, which is homeownership," Lautz posited.
Regarding the homes people purchased last year, NAR offers some further insight, including:
- 15% of buyers purchased a new home, while 85% bought a previously-owned home;
- Detached single-family homes were by far the most common home type — comprising 75% of the total — followed by townhouses or row houses at 7%;
- Quality of the neighborhood (59%), convenience to friends and family (45%), and overall home affordability (36%) were the most important factors to recent home buyers when selecting a place to live;
- The typical homebuyer purchased a home that was built in 1994, which is a notable change from two years ago, when the typical buyer purchased a home built in the 1980s; and
- Overall, homebuyers said they expect to live in their homes for a median of 15 years, while fully one out of four (25%) apparently felt they'd found their forever home, indicating that they’d "never" move.
