- This is a stark contrast to 40 years ago, when the proportion of single women and men buying a home was about the same
- The proportion of new buyers who are married couples has also fallen to 59 percent – the lowest value since 2010
- According to the National Association of Realtors, the typical single female buyer is slightly older than the average male buyer
While home buying was traditionally reserved for married couples, homeowners in the U.S. today are increasingly single women.
According to recent data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), female buyers alone now make up 19 percent of American home buyers – nearly twice as many as single men.
This is a stark contrast to 40 years ago, when the proportion of single women and men buying a home was about the same – at 11 percent and 10 percent, respectively. In 2023, the proportion of single men purchasing a property will remain constant at 10 percent.
According to NAR, the share of new buyers who are married couples also fell to 59 percent – the lowest level since 2010.
When the organization began analyzing buyer and seller profiles in 1981, 73 percent of homeowners were married couples.
Meanwhile, female buyers who purchase homes alone make up 19 percent of American homebuyers – nearly twice as many as single men
The share of unmarried couples buying a home has also increased slightly over the past four decades – from 6 percent in 1981 to 9 percent in 2023, the data shows.
According to NAR, the typical single woman buying her first home is 38 years old — compared to 33 for a man.
Overall, home buyers are also getting older. In the 1980s, the typical first-time home buyer was 29 years old, this year it was 35 years old.
This comes after analyst Meredith Whitney warned that younger people are missing out on $21 trillion in equity built by older generations through homeownership.
Whitney, once dubbed the “Oracle of Wall Street” for accurately predicting the 2008 financial crisis, said young people had been locked out of the housing market due to increased mortgage rates and rising prices.
The NAR report also found that the average homebuyer’s income rose to $107,000 this year from $88,000 in 2022 – as home prices trended upward amid low inventory levels.
The typical income of first-time buyers also rose to $95,900 – up from $71,000 last year.
“As housing affordability worsens due to higher home prices and mortgage rates, household income of those who successfully purchased homes increased by nearly $20,000, topping six figures for only the second time in our records,” said Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president for research at NAR told Bloomberg.
The NAR report also found that the average homebuyer income increased from $88,000 to $107,000
The average interest rate on a 30-year mortgage has fallen to 7.50 percent, according to the latest figures as of November 9th
According to NAR, the typical home buyer is also more likely to buy in cash this year.
About 20 percent of buyers paid cash in 2023 – to avoid rising mortgage rates.
That’s up from 13 percent in 2021, before the Federal Reserve began its relentless campaign of interest rate hikes to curb persistent inflation.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage contract remains high this year, rising nearly 8 percent last month.
According to the latest figures from government-backed lender Freddie Mac on November 9, the average interest rate fell slightly to 7.50 percent.