According to a study conducted by the National Association of Realtors research group in 2009, single women are taking over the world! Okay, not really, but they have a serious presence in the home-buying arena. Single women homebuyers increased from 14% in 1995 to 21% in 2009. They account for the 2nd largest share of adult households who purchase homes. Single females made up ¼ of 1st buyers and 17% of the repeat buyer population.
So, where and what do they buy, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you…the majority of single women buyers buy single family homes but they are actually more likely to buy a condo or townhome than other buyers. 22% of them have children at home in comparison to the 38% of all home buyers with children at home. 1 in 4 buy their home in urban/central city areas but the majority buy in the suburbs. Not unlike most people, single women buy due to their desire to own their own home. And now for my favorite part, 89% of these lovely single women used a realtor as a trusted resource that they could turn to during the process. They look for and place a high importance on honesty and integrity in their agent along with knowledge of the process. And who wouldn’t? These are the virtues of an individual we all want working for us.
And now we ask, why have single women taken such an active role in the real estate world? Since the 1950’s, when 80% of homebuyers were married couples, women have become better educated and financially stable on their own. They have solid incomes and good credit (see, we do know how to do more than spend money!) which along with stricter government regulations on discrimination and an increase in financial assistance programs has allowed women to maybe not take over the world (just yet) but to become real players in the real estate arena. The bottom line for single women looking to buy their own home is this: do your research, go to seminars, talk to lenders and find a real estate agent who you trust and know will do a good job as your ally.
If you’d like to discuss this further, Contact HRG’s own Carrie Fisketjon:
[simple-staff-list group=”carrie”]
Sources:
2009 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Single-Women Home Buyers: A Growing Segment by Jessica Lautz
Single-Women Home Buyers by DIY.com