Written by Isabel Stanley, Dailymail.Com
19:11 03 2024, updated 19:29 03 2024
- Single women own more homes than single men in the U.S., and experts say the trend is “empowering” as the gap widens.
- Because women are economically advantaged, they often choose to buy things themselves even when they are in a relationship.
Just 60 years after women were no longer allowed to take out their own mortgages, single women now own more homes than single men.
In the United States, single women own 13% of all real estate (equivalent to 10.95 million homes), while single men own just 10.2% (equivalent to 8.24 million homes).
The data is based on analysis of census data by loan marketplace Lending Tree, and defines single women as women who live alone.
Delaware has the highest proportion of homes owned by single women at 15.34 percent of all homes, followed by Louisiana at 15.19 percent and Mississippi at 14.84 percent.
There are only three states where single men own more homes than single women: Alaska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
The Pew Research Center says this gap is due to “more things.” [women’s] Women outnumber men in most age groups and in most life expectancies, he added.
The number of women applying for home loans on their own is increasing, reaching 22% of the total market last year, according to a separate report from mortgage platform Maxwell.
They found that 55 percent of single female buyers were under the age of 34.
Melissa Langdale, president and chief operating officer of The Mortgage Collaborative, told Maxwell: “Data on single women homebuyers is empowering.”
“This clearly shows that women value homeownership and are not waiting for life events like marriage or the perfect financial situation to buy a home.
“They are pragmatic and willing to compromise to find affordable solutions that fit their single income budget.”
She added that the number of women-led households is also increasing.
In 1990, less than a third of households, including both married and single people, were headed by a woman, but in 2021, 51 percent claimed to be headed by a woman.
In her single female homebuyer report, Maxwell notes that women “decide to buy on their own for a variety of reasons.”
Furthermore, one-third of female buyers have a partner, but decide to buy alone because they are the breadwinner or have strong credit or savings. added.
Meanwhile, data released by the National Association of Realtors in November shows that single women account for 19% of homebuyers in the U.S., nearly twice as many as single men.
This is a stark contrast to 40 years ago, when the share of single women and men buying a home was about the same at 11% and 10%, respectively.
As of 2023, the share of single men buying real estate will remain stable at 10%.
The percentage of recent buyers who are married couples also fell to 59%, the lowest level since 2010, according to NAR.
In 1981, when the organization began analyzing buyer and seller profiles, married couples accounted for 73 percent of homeowners.