RALEIGH – Female buyers in the Raleigh metro area can reasonably afford one in four homes in the area, but men can afford half of all homes that come on the market. That leaves women behind, a Zillow economist notes in a new report.
Zillow’s new analysis of data from the US Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics found that women nationwide could afford 18 percent more from the housing market if they made as much money as men.
But Raleigh has a housing equity gap that Zillow found higher than the national average: 25.1 percent. That gap is the ninth-worst gap in the nation, according to the analysis.
Overall, in the Raleigh metropolitan area, which includes Wake, Johnston and Franklin counties, women can afford 25.5 percent of all homes, while men can afford 50.6 percent of those homes, according to the Zillow analysis.
Screenshot of the Zillow image. Data source: US Census Bureau, US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Gender plays a role in the housing market. Why?
First, Zillow’s analysis finds that there is still a wage gap between male and female earners.
And a new diversity and inclusion benchmarking study conducted for the North Carolina Technology Association and its partners found that there is still a “staircase” or “broken rung” when it comes to career paths to management and leadership roles for those who identify as women, at least in North Carolina’s tech sector.
The median price for homes in Wake County rises to a new high: $420,000
Raleigh’s market niche varies by industry
While Raleigh was recently ranked as the best city for working women, the city ranked 52nd for its housing market.
There’s also “occupational segregation,” according to Charmaine Davis, southeastern regional administrator at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau, in a March 2021 appeal. Davis noted that so-called occupational segregation lowers women’s wages.
While higher incomes can help qualify potential homeowners for mortgages and cushion a person’s monthly budget, lower incomes may not qualify a potential buyer for an affordable home, especially as home prices are rising across the triangle and wage growth in the region by far surpass .
Screenshot of the Zillow image. Data source: US Census Bureau, US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.
However, Zillow’s analysis also looked at industry categories, showing which industries have the largest and which the smallest differences when it comes to the impact of income on home affordability.
Only in two sectors, construction and wholesale, can women afford more housing than men.
In construction, women can afford 24.2 percent of all housing in the region, while men can afford 22.1 percent. And in wholesale, women can afford 49.4 percent of the apartments, while men can afford 48.9 percent.
And in the leisure and hospitality sectors, overall home affordability is low, but disparities still exist. In the leisure and hospitality sector, men can afford 2.3 percent of total housing, compared to 0.6 percent for women.
Triangular homes have never been less affordable
More Zillow dates
According to Zillow:
- In education and healthcare, men can afford 48.1 percent of all housing, compared to 26.4 percent for women
- In financial services and activities, men can afford 84.8 percent of all housing, compared to 53.0 percent for women
- Overall, men can afford 84.7 percent of all housing compared to 56.0 percent of women
- In manufacturing, men can afford 73.7 percent of all housing, compared to 27.7 percent for women
- In professional and business services, men can afford 86.7 percent of all housing, compared to 60.0 percent for women
- In retail, men can afford 14.1 percent of total housing, compared to 6.5 percent for women
- In transportation and warehousing, men can afford 44.8 percent of all housing compared to 28.9 percent of women
Screenshot of the Zillow image. Data source: US Census Bureau, US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Meanwhile, housing affordability is a concern for many in the Triangle as mortgage rates rise, now averaging 4.67 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. Additionally, rental costs have increased by over 20 percent and Triangle homes have never been less affordable.
According to a December 2021 statement from the Wake County Board of Commissioners, about 25% of Wake County residents are considered cost-burdened, including renters and homeowners.
Rents in Raleigh, Durham continue to rise reflecting the rise in property prices
More women are homeowners, but there are still challenges
According to data from the National Association of REALTORS, women’s home ownership rate was 61.2% in 2019, up from 50.9% in 1990. But the homes owned by women are less valuable, according to Zillow’s research.
And women may be paying more for their mortgage than men, increasing their home ownership costs, a 2021 analysis by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) found.
Screenshot of the Zillow image. Big city comparisons of the additional share of the housing market that women could afford if they had equal pay.
“With home ownership being the predominant wealth accumulation route for most Americans, this inequality is compounded,” according to the Zillow analysis released earlier this week. “The housing value gap for women’s shelters has improved over the past decade, but women who want to move into home ownership are starting at the bottom.”
And single women are also underrepresented in Raleigh’s real estate market.
According to data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, 22 percent of homebuyers in the region were single women or two female co-applicants. That’s a tad higher than the national average, which is 21.4 percent.
Compare that to the rate of men applying alone, which is 34 percent, or joint applications, which hold the largest share of the real estate market nationwide at 39.9 percent.