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A Home of One’s Own: Single Women Heat up the Real Estate Market
by Karen West

Forget those “Searching for my Soul Mate” personal ads that promise quiet talks by the fire and romantic walks on the beach.

When single women peruse the classifieds today, they are more likely to be attracted to “The perfect opportunity: Classic Craftsman in quiet neighborhood with beach access and fireplace.”

National studies show that single women make up the fastest growing segment of homebuyers today and are twice as likely to buy their first home than single men. Instead of waiting for someone to provide them security, single women are building their own nest eggs with home equity.

While many women homebuyers are single moms and divorcees, real estate agents say they are seeing more and more younger women investing in residential properties.

“You don’t need a partner to have security in a home,” says 36-year-old Bianca Brookman, who bought a fixer-upper in the Georgetown district two years ago. “I’ve moved from apartment to apartment since I was 20. I felt it was important to make an investment.”

After married couples (59 percent), single women are the largest group of homebuyers in the United States, responsible for 21 percent of transactions, according to the National Association of Realtors.® Single men, by contrast, represent 11 percent of buyers, while unmarried couples account for 8 percent.

“Social and economic trends have given women a more powerful presence in housing markets,” says “The State of the Nation’s Housing: 2004,” a report compiled by the Joint Centers for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Single women, many of whom have delayed marriage or are divorced, are being motivated largely by low interest rates and creative financing options to invest in single-family homes, condominiums, townhouses and vacation properties.

Many single women today – inspired by do-it-yourself workshops at local retailers and a growing market of female-friendly power tools – are not only buying their own homes, they are remodeling them as well.

Brookman, owner of Aria Salon on Capitol Hill, says women shouldn’t be afraid to make an offer on a run-down house. With the help of friends, she rewired her new home, retiled the kitchen, put in a spiral staircase and did all of the finishing work.

“Instead of buying shoes and handbags, I bought drywall,” says Brookman. “Women feel like they need a man to do the repairs, but the only thing that keeps us from doing it is the physical strength.”

After remodeling her home, Brookman refinanced and used the money she saved to purchase property on San Juan Island where she is building a vacation home.

Tackling big remodeling jobs isn’t for everyone, however. Some women don’t have the time or money to work on their homes, or they don’t feel comfortable with male contractors constantly coming and going.

Real estate agent Mimi Stewart, with RE/MAX Northwest Realtors, suggests sharing a home or purchasing a house with a mother-in-law unit that can be rented out.

Buying a home to share or rent allows women to “get the biggest bang for their buck and feel safe at the same time,” Stewart says, noting that many women prefer not to live alone.

“Women traditionally thought that if they didn’t have a man in their lives they couldn’t own or take care of a single-family home,” Stewart says. “Now, by sharing ideas with other women, they are realizing that they can obtain maximum equity and investment possibilities.”

Since Stewart bought her first home in 1989, the number of single women homebuyers (approximately 1.7 million) has doubled nationwide, according to the NAR survey.

The upswing of single women buyers in the real estate market simply reflects our changing society, says Coldwell Banker Bain real estate agent Susan Sanders, who, like Stewart, bought her first home in the late 1980s when it was unfashionable for single women to do so.

“I think the active housing market and general demographic trends have gradually come to influence women’s long-awaited stronger economic influence in our society,” Sanders says. “I have been told by some of my single women buyers that they were raised thinking that home ownership would occur simultaneously with marriage and pregnancies, but as they pursued their educations and careers they found the order of things to be changed.”

Sanders’ theory is borne out by the recent Harvard housing study, which notes that greater access to education and opportunity has helped women’s earnings rise for the past two decades. The report says that the number of unmarried women owning homes between 1994 and 2002 climbed from 13.9 million to 17.5 million, representing 30 percent of overall homeowner growth. In addition, the number of divorced women homeowners increased during the 1994 and 2002 period from 4.2 million to 5.7 million, as did widowed homeowners from 6.7 million to 7.1 million.

“Since home ownership is such an excellent investment, I think most people who can qualify for home loans these days just go ahead and make that move in their lives,” Sanders says.

Real estate professionals say that traditionally, women homebuyers have preferred lower-cost townhome and condominium developments for added security and low maintenance. In fact, the NAR report notes that women make 47 percent of all condominium purchases nationwide. But experts say the trend is changing and that many single women today are looking for larger homes for children and family. Some, like Brookman, are even purchasing second homes as investments.

By 2010, the number of households headed by unmarried women is expected to rise to nearly 31 million, representing about 28 percent of all households in the country, according to a 2003 Fannie Mae study. Because higher home prices can present a challenge for first-time homebuyers, special mortgage programs such as FHA loans and those administered by Fannie Mae can help first-time female homebuyers.

Sanders offers the following tips for single women homebuyers:

Arrange your finances. Determine a budget you are comfortable with and find a lender who will provide a good-faith estimate (which is required by law) and a strong pre-approval letter.

Communication is key. Find a real estate agent who you feel understands your needs, with whom you are comfortable communicating, and who you feel will represent you in the most appropriate manner. “Sometimes well-meaning friends and family members will have a lot of advice for you, but you need to remember that your real estate agent is a professional who is in the field every day and understands the market.”

Consider creative housing alternatives. Within the most popular price ranges these days there is a great deal of competition between buyers for the most desirable homes. Ask yourself if you feel comfortable in a multiple offer situation where you will probably end up paying more than the listing price, as well as strategizing your offer to make it stronger to the seller. If you aren’t comfortable with that scenario, consider creative housing alternatives, i.e., condo instead of house, or a less trendy location that you were originally considering.

The fast-growing pace of women homebuyers isn’t expected to slow down any time soon, as real estate experts predict the 2005 housing market to remain strong. Mortgage rates are expected to continue to be affordable at around 6 percent, according to mortgage funder Freddie Mac.

Christy Burke, owner of Signature Mortgage Services in Bothell, credits the favorable interest rates, in addition to the popularity and ease of researching on the Internet, to making home ownership attractive to single women.

“You can now be two years out of a bankruptcy and still buy a house with almost zero down,” Burke says.

To take advantage of creative financing options, she urges women to enlist the services of a mortgage broker, not a banker. “If you go with a banker, it’s like going into a restaurant and only getting to choose what’s on that particular menu. If you go with a broker, it’s like getting to choose from the menus of all the restaurants in town.”

She also says it’s important to get pre-qualified before making an offer on a home. Not only will this give you an exact price range for your purchase, but pre-qualification will add strength to your offer. In addition, she advises women to find a real estate agent that is good at negotiating – one who can persuade the seller to pay for closing costs. Another motivator for women homebuyers today is that real estate agents will often negotiate their commissions as opposed to demanding the standard 6 percent. Overall, Burke says real estate is one of the best investments women can make.

Brookman, who bought the Georgetown home, agrees, saying: “At a certain age you want security in a home, whether you have a partner or not.”

©2005 Caliope Publishing Company