Single women have been outpacing single men in both buying and renting homes for several years now, and housing experts predict that this trend will continue in 2023.
The National Association of Realtors reports that single women accounted for 17% of all home purchases in 2022, again making them the second largest household composition (after married couples) since records began in 1981. Single men have made up just 9% of homebuyers over the past five years.
Additionally, 27% of all apartment households are led by single females compared to single men (24%) and couples without children (18%).
Riding solo for a reason
Whether they buy or rent their own single-family home, modern women's desire for independence is in part driven by attitude changes towards gender and family. 87% of single women reject the traditional notion that a person must be married before owning a home.
The shrinking gender pay gap allows more women the ability to afford down payments and rising rents with a single income – and with that, the freedom to move where they feel safest and most comfortable.
Rob Hodge, Senior VP of Investments and founding member of MORE Residential, said during a December Bisnow webinar that his company’s female single-family rental tenants preferred not having to share hallways and other common spaces with strangers as they would in a multi-family property.
It looks like Sean Grzebin, Head of Originations at Chase Home Lending, will be accurate when he predicts that "single women will continue to become more dominant forces in the housing market" in 2023.
More tenant lifestyle headlines
What older first-time home buyers mean for property managers – PayProp
As Gen X and Boomers age, they confront living alone – The New York Times
Rising rents have most renters contemplating a cheaper place – Lemonade, Inc.
