All the Single Ladies ... Are Buying Homes

Impact

The shoes on our feet, we bought 'em, the homes we live in, we bought it. Yes, single women are second only to married couples in home ownership. Single women also own homes at twice the rate of single men. So what is behind this change? Turns out a few things. 

The survey compiled by the National Association of Realtors showed that the share of first time buyers is up since 2011 to almost 39 percent. The survey was mailed out in July 2012 to a random sampling of 93,502 recent home buyers, though only 8,501 responses were received it showed some pretty fascinating trends in home ownership. 

As one might expect, the primary motivation for a home purchase is to own a place of one’s own. The survey also indicates that women place a higher priority on home ownership then men do. An interesting component of the survey concerned single females income, which was the lowest among all other survey respondents. This might account for why single females were the group most likely to utilize financing when buying their home. The survey does indicate that younger individuals and first-time buyers are on average more likely to use financing. 

While these are pretty impressive statistics, it’s important to recognize that as a whole, home ownership among single individuals is at its lowest levels since 2001. That's likely because the process of obtaining financing is difficult and home costs are on the rise now that the housing industry is on the rebound. 

NPR suggests that as women put off marriage, they may be more interested in purchasing a home. “There’s room to have the rest of my life,” remarked one recent home buyer. Another home buyer said, "It feels good, actually. It makes a lot more sense. I feel people shouldn't have to rent, like it should be illegal or something ... your rent money should be going toward some kind of investment."

Jessica Lautz of the National Association of Realtors explains why single women might be more likely than others to purchase a home, "We asked did they make any sacrifices like cutting spending on entertainment, on luxury items they don't necessarily need, on clothing, even getting a second job. And consistently, single female buyers are making those sacrifices more than other buyers." 

Nice, but imagine all the homes we could buy if we actually got paid an equal wage ...