Buying a home, whether it’s a new build or an older one, is exciting! If you’re in the market for a house or are thinking of what’s to come, then check out these female home buyer trends for 2020 in the US.
Female home buyer trends:
More single women are buying for the first time
An exciting trend that’s sure to continue through the year is the record amount of ladies who are taking ownership of residences for the first time. At least 1 in 5 home buyers are single women, explains the balance.
That’s double the number of single men buying homes, finding them through resources like http://www.ssbhg.ca/. Furthermore, first-time female home buyer trends show that they spent about $10,000 more on their residences than did single males, as per the balance.
New Mexico and North Carolina are popular home locations
Also interesting is where women tend to be purchasing their houses. A recent survey reveals that New Mexio and North Carolina are high on the list of US locations where they’re taking ownership.
Of the top 10 metro areas where ladies are buying relative to men, women were approved for more morgages than men in these 4 specific spots:
- Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Burlington, New Mexico
- Las Cruces, New Mexico
Interestingly, that same survey shows that in the Northeast more men are buying homes than females. Of the top 10 list in the previously noted survey, none of the locations are in the Northeast.
Looking at the top 25 places for female home buyer trends, there are only two Northeast locations where women are buyers at the same rate as men: Ithaca, New York (#23 on the list) and Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont (#16).
Age and female home buyer trends
How does age factor into all of this? More older females – specifically those 72 years old and up – are entering the real estate market than younger age brackets. Interestingly, while that number increases as women age, the numbers actually decline for home ownership for single males over their lifetime.
That same source (CNBC) reveals that single gals make up 20% of residential buyers aged 51-60, while single guys only make up 10% of that same age group.
Hence, more single female boomers are putting their money into homes than their male counterparts. Cheers with sweet wine to ladies taking ownership of property to live their best lives!
Why are single females the real estate future?
One reason for this trend is that older women may have lost their spouses and be downsizing or have entered into divorce. They have the funds to put toward a house and that may be what makes sense for them at that point in their lives, especially if those who are around them already have properties.
There are other viable reasons, including women of any age wanting to take ownership rather than pay rent that goes towards someone else’s mortgage. Furthermore, they may want to put down roots as they age and be in a better financial position (aka have more savings) than when they were younger to put toward a home loan.
Lastly, while the pay gap still exists, women’s annual salaries are higher than they once were, on average. In 2018, women’s median earnings (full-time and salary workers) was 81% of what men earned in comparable positions, as per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While that’s still not equal, it’s considerably better than the 62% of men’s earnings that women typically earned back in 1979. The increase in earnings over the decades can help to explain the increasing number of women entering the real estate market.
Interesting.
I wonder what these stats are for the UK? I am single and hoping in 2 or 3 years time to have enough deposit to buy a house.