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Once upon a time, a young girl grew up, went to college, got a job, saved her money, bought her first home and walked herself right across its threshold, mortgage papers in hand. Feminist fantasy? Not really. According to the National Association of Realtors, single women are now the second-largest demographic of home buyers (behind married couples): They constitute 21 percent of all home purchasers, while single men account for only 10 percent. That means twice as many single women buy a house as single guys do.
Linda Quinn, a San Francisco real estate broker, isn’t surprised; she says there are so many single women investing in property in SF that she doesn’t even notice it anymore. “I don’t think twice when a single woman approaches me to buy a home. In fact, the vast majority of my clients are single women,” says Quinn.
It makes sense that as professional women hold off on marriage—waiting until their 30s or 40s, or not marrying at all—many of them want to acquire the emotional and financial security that home ownership offers.
“What was I waiting for—to get married, have kids, get promoted?” asks Darcy Horn, 33, a brand manager who recently purchased her first home, in Laurel Heights. “There are just too many unknowns. You have to jump on good opportunities, or you’ll waste your life waiting.”
Who needs a man when you can get a low-interest loan? Low interest rates, low or no down payments, first-time buyer programs and programs that provide education and counseling for female home buyers—like Freddie Mac’s Women’s Mortgage Industry Network (WMIN)—help make the process a lot easier. And as more single women take the home-buying plunge, they motivate their friends and colleagues to do so as well. Financial gurus like Suze Orman continually advocate home ownership as the smartest move a woman can make to secure her future.
While Horn did not seek outside support, she did buy a share of a building as a TIC (tenancy in common) with three others, and enjoys being a part of a “home-buyers network.” Horn also took advantage of low interest rates. Because her rent was high to begin with, buying wasn’t such a shock: “The hit to my cash flow was insignificant.”
Studies show that, on average, women still earn lower annual salaries than men. But women also have one seemingly innate advantage: their meticulous approach to shopping. “They’re savvy and smart, and the best thing is that they are enthusiastic,” says Quinn about the feminine approach to real estate. Their distinctive line of attack can be summed up in one word: patience. Women are more than willing, she adds, to wait before committing to a property. “I looked for more than a year and made about 10 different offers,” recalls Horn. “I was looking for a place that would appreciate over time but that I also would love to live in now.”
Quinn, who works primarily with investors, has also noticed that women focus much more specifically on location and that they are likely to hold on to a property for a substantial amount of time. Flipping—buying a property, fixing it up and selling it for a profit—is not as popular with women, says Quinn. Instead, a woman will buy a lower-priced house, then wait for the market to grow before selling and upgrading to a more desirable property. Although this may not yield the quick results of flipping, it’s a great way to gradually increase your net worth without as much risk. Patience is a virtue.
Nor are women averse to remodeling. In fact, nearly half of all purchases in home improvement stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot are made by women. “My place needed a fair amount of work, and as a single woman, I found it a bit intimidating,” admits Horn. “But it has worked out great, and I am actually adding on a second bedroom and bathroom. This is definitely not something that I foresaw doing as a single woman, but I’m excited.”
Once upon a time, a young girl grew up, went to college, got a job, saved her money, bought her first home and walked herself right across its threshold, mortgage papers in hand. Feminist fantasy? Not really. According to the National Association of Realtors, single women are now the second-largest demographic of home buyers (behind married couples): They constitute 21 percent of all home purchasers, while single men account for only 10 percent. That means twice as many single women buy a house as single guys do.
Linda Quinn, a San Francisco real estate broker, isn’t surprised; she says there are so many single women investing in property in SF that she doesn’t even notice it anymore. “I don’t think twice when a single woman approaches me to buy a home. In fact, the vast majority of my clients are single women,” says Quinn.
It makes sense that as professional women hold off on marriage—waiting until their 30s or 40s, or not marrying at all—many of them want to acquire the emotional and financial security that home ownership offers.
“What was I waiting for—to get married, have kids, get promoted?” asks Darcy Horn, 33, a brand manager who recently purchased her first home, in Laurel Heights. “There are just too many unknowns. You have to jump on good opportunities, or you’ll waste your life waiting.”
Who needs a man when you can get a low-interest loan? Low interest rates, low or no down payments, first-time buyer programs and programs that provide education and counseling for female home buyers—like Freddie Mac’s Women’s Mortgage Industry Network (WMIN)—help make the process a lot easier. And as more single women take the home-buying plunge, they motivate their friends and colleagues to do so as well. Financial gurus like Suze Orman continually advocate home ownership as the smartest move a woman can make to secure her future.
While Horn did not seek outside support, she did buy a share of a building as a TIC (tenancy in common) with three others, and enjoys being a part of a “home-buyers network.” Horn also took advantage of low interest rates. Because her...
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