Source: 2024 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers
Statistics on Women and Homeownership
The share of single females slightly increased to 20 percent, and the share of single males rose to eight percent.
The share of first-time buyers who were single females was 24 percent, while 12 percent were unmarried couples, and 11 percent were single males. In one year, the share of single women first-time buyers jumped by five percent.
Source: 2024 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Women & Homeownership Trends
The Housing Gender Gap: Why Women Still Face Roadblocks in Buying Homes and Building Home Equity (Bankrate, May 16, 2024)
- For single women, wealth accumulation achieved through home equity lags behind that of single men, according to a Yale School of Management study, “The Gender Gap in Housing Returns.” Women pay more to buy a home, and reap less when they sell it. They can afford a smaller chunk of the homes on the market and the homes they do purchase tend to be worth less, making their ownership stake less valuable, other studies show.
Single Women are More Likely to Own Homes than Single Men. Why? (The Hill, May 7, 2024)
- A recent LendingTree study found that about 13 percent of single women own homes, compared to 10 percent of single men.
More Black Women are Becoming Homeowners — It Doesn’t Mean It’s Easier, Economist Says (CNBC, Feb. 20, 2024)
- Black women, as well as Latinas, are also disproportionately represented in low-wage jobs such as child care and hospitality work.“These jobs are vastly undervalued but critical to our economy,” Hassmer said. The median hourly wage of a child care worker in 2022 was $13.71 per hour, or $28,520 annually, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “That makes it very hard to afford a down payment, which is one of the biggest obstacles to afford a home,” Hassmer said.
The State of Women's Homeownership (Housing Matters, March 29, 2023)
- Because women still earn less than men on average, the homeownership gap between single women and single men may be surprising. However, the analysis explains that women are twice as likely than men to report being widowed. These women may have purchased their homes with their spouse, and then became the primary homeowner after their spouse passed. This could explain why single-women homeowners are typically older than their male counterparts, despite the pay gap being wider for older Americans.
Financing Homeownership
14 Essential Tips For Women Seeking A Single Mortgage Application (Forbes, March 4, 2024)
- Nationally, the percentage of mortgage applications from single women has surpassed that of those from single men. In the mortgage process, it’s vital for single women to account for all their income sources, including often-overlooked forms. Open discussions on diverse income streams are essential for an optimal credit evaluation, ensuring a comprehensive financial assessment and determining purchasing capacity.
The Gender Gap: Women Pay More For Their Mortgage Than Men (OwnUp, Aug. 15, 2023)
- The inequity in rates is indicative of a systemic problem and deeper underlying factors. The ability to get a mortgage involves your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) and the rates you receive are influenced by factors such as credit score, loan-to-value ratio (LTV), and property and occupancy type. Without pay equity, women may find themselves with lower DTIs, lower credit scores, and therefore, higher mortgage rates than men.
Inequality Gap Persists in Lending Toward Female Borrowers (Mortgage Professional America, April 6, 2023)
- Speaking to MPA on the heels of Women’s History Month, Ukpai said technology can be used to eliminate bias in lending that would help level the playing field: “There is a fundamental recognition that women are certainly capable and poised to be in positions where they can take advantage of the opportunities to build wealth, but we have to make sure we’re leveraging technology in a way that enables it to be more equitable.”
Housing for Women & Female-Headed Households (National League of Cities, March 21, 2023)
- Women homeowners — particularly those who are single or are people of color — often have lower incomes, fewer assets and greater debts, which can lower their likelihood of being approved for loans or getting the best loan terms. It was also technically legal for banks to refuse loans and credit to unmarried women until 1974, when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed. Although women are generally better at paying their mortgages, they often face higher interest rates than men and can be subject to predatory lending practices known as “pinklining.” With all these factors combined, women tend to own lower-value homes than men. That said, race — along with income, education and household composition — continues as a key determinant of owning a home, separate from gender.
Useful Websites
Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) — HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) works to eliminate housing discrimination, promote economic opportunity, and achieve diverse, inclusive communities.
The State of the Nation's Housing: 2024pdf (Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, 2024) — Home price growth was widespread in early 2024, occurring in 97 of the top 100 markets, with higher increases in the Northeast and Midwest and more muted growth in the South and West.
2020 Women Housing Ecosystem Report (National Association of Women in Real Estate Businesses, 2020) — Women in the Housing & Real Estate Ecosystem (NAWRB) proudly introduces the 2020 NAWRB Women Housing Ecosystem Report (WHER), the fourth installment of the most diverse coverage of the Housing Ecosystem with over sixty resources in six volumes: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Real Estate, Business Ownership, STEM, Access to Capital, and Aging Population with a gender lens perspective.
eBooks & Other Resources
eBooks.realtor.org
The following ebooks and digital audiobooks are available to NAR members:
Wise Women Invest in Real Estate (eBook)
Books, Videos, Research Reports & More
As a member benefit, the following resources and more are available for loan through the NAR Library. Items will be mailed directly to you or made available for pickup at the REALTOR® Building in Chicago.
Own It!: The Ups and Downs of Homebuying for Women Who Go It Alone (Berkeley, CA: Seal Press, 2008) HF 5438 M97
Single Woman's Guide to Real Estate (Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2006) HF 5438 R18s
Buying Solo: The Single Woman' Guide to Buying a First Home (New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2005) HF 5438 Su6
Redesigning the American Dream: the Future of Housing, Work, and Family Life (New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 2002) HD 7293 H39
Americans and Their Homes: Demographics of Homeownership (Ithaca, NY: New Strategist Publications, 1998) HD 1341 R91
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