- Single women own more homes than single men in the US and as the gap widens, experts say the trend is ’empowering’
- Women often choose to buy on their own, even if they are in a relationship, because they are in a stronger financial position
It was only sixty years ago that women were not allowed to obtain mortgages themselves, and now single women own more homes than single men.
In the US, single women own 13 percent of all property – equivalent to 10.95 million homes – while single men own only 10.2 percent – equivalent to 8.24 million homes.
The data is based on an analysis of census data by lending marketplace Lending Tree, and defines single women as “women who live on their own.”
Delaware has the highest percentage of homes owned by single women at 15.34 percent of all homes, followed closely 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.
A Lending Tree analysis, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows the disparity in home ownership between single men and women
There are only three states where single men own more homes than single women
The Pew Research Center says the gap is “due more to the number of women than their economic power,” adding that women outnumber men in most age categories and in life expectancy.
A separate report from mortgage platform Maxwell shows that the number of women applying for a mortgage themselves is rising, reaching 22 percent of the entire market last year.
They found that 55 percent of single female buyers are 34 years old or younger.
Melissa Langdale, president and COO of The Mortgage Collaborative, told Maxwell, “The data on single female homebuyers is empowering.
“It clearly shows that women value homeownership and are not waiting for a life event like marriage or the perfect economic circumstances to buy a home.”
‘They are practical and willing to make compromises to find affordable solutions for their single-income budget.’
And they add that the number of women-led homes is also increasing.
In 1990, less than a third of households – both married and single – were headed by women, and in 2021, 51 percent claimed to be headed by women.
In their Single Women Homebuyer Report, Maxwell says that women “decide to buy their own home for a variety of reasons.”
They added that a third of female buyers have a partner but decide to buy alone because “they are the breadwinner or have strong credit or savings.”
Melissa Langdale of the Mortgage Collaborative said the data showed women valued homeownership and were unwilling to wait to buy real estate.
Single women often choose to shop alone, even if they are in a relationship
Meanwhile, data from the National Association of Realtors estimated last November that single women made up 19 percent of U.S. potential homebuyers — nearly double that of single men.
This is in stark contrast to forty years ago, when the share of single women and men buying a house was about the same: 11 percent and 10 percent respectively.
As of 2023, the share of single men buying property has remained stable at 10 percent
According to the NAR, the share of recent buyers who are married has also fallen to 59 percent – the lowest level since 2010.
In 1981, when the organization began analyzing the profiles of buyers and sellers, married couples made up 73 percent of homeowners.