Top 7 Reasons Why Single Women Outpace Men in the Real Estate Market
May 27, 2010 by Admin
Filed under Denver Real Estate
According to a report recently released by the National Association of Realtors®, single men made just 10% of home purchases in 2009 while single women accounted for 21% of purchases. This is a new trend when compared to a couple of decades ago. So why are single woman now accounting for such a disproportionate percentage of purchases compared to single men in recent years?
In 1981, which is when the NAR (National Association of Realtors®) first started tracking such data, the percent of single women and the percent of single men who were purchasing homes was equal at 10%. Over the years, however, single men have held steady at the 10% rate while women have more than doubled their house purchasing power. While the NAR doesn’t attempt to explain this shift, there are likely to be several reasons for the increased purchasing power of women in the United States. These include:
1.) Single women in certain professions make more money than their male peers – our recent economic troubles have highlighted this fact as women in careers traditionally dominated by women, including healthcare and education, have held steady while male-dominated industries have suffered.
2.) Many single women are interested in finding ways to safeguard their net worth – as women become increasingly independent, they are taking a greater interest in finding ways to protect their net worth.
3.) Single women are becoming interested in supplementing their income and subsidizing their mortgage, not just saving for their retirement.
4.) Single women tend to have thrifty habits as opposed to being overly focused on consumption and spending money each month toward a mortgage is seen as a thriftier option than paying rent.
5.) Many single women have come to realize that “landing a husband” does not constitute a financial plan.
6.) Single women see real estate as a way to protect their assets – while asset protection was once viewed as part of the “man’s world,” times have changed as women have increasingly started to take control of their own finances.
7.) Widowed seniors still comprise a good percentage of the single women who are purchasing homes. This demographic has remained relatively steady while women purchasing real estate in other single female demographic areas has increased.
In short, the NAR has found that single women are the second largest group of adults who are purchasing homes. In fact, they account for one-quarter of first-time home buyers as well as 17 percent of repeat buyers. Therefore, the single female demographic is certain one that real estate agents cannot afford to ignore.
Jolenta Averill is the broker|owner of Lake & City Homes Realty, a full-service real estate brokerage based in Madison, Wisconsin specializing in Madison Golf Course Communities, Luxury Madison Homes, Madison Lakefront Property and Downtown Madison Condos. Visit www.LakeandCityhomes.com or call Jolenta at (563) BUY-SOLD today to discuss your specific requirements.
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