Single women are outpacing single men as homebuyers
Single women are surpassing single men in the homebuying arena, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors.
The gap between the shares of single female and male buyers is widest among those ages 51 to 60, which is 20 percent versus 10 percent, and those ages 61 to 69 at 19 percent versus 9 percent.
“It seems that many women have the stability and desire to own their own homes as they are not getting married straight out of high school or college as much,” Pava Leyrer, chief operating officer for Northern Mortgage Services in Grandville, Mich.
“Many in the older group may have lost spouses and are now downsizing or moving to more maintenance-free homes,” Leyrer said, adding that she hasn’t seen many older single men buying homes. “Women seem to be more confident and ready to purchase or explore the possibilities.”
In Clark County, nearly 100,000 households were occupied by a female householder with no husband present, according to the 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
For men, there were 47,348 households occupied by a male householder with no wife present in Clark County.
Las Vegas resident Anna Burkemper relocated from Chicago in 2009 and decided to purchase her first home.
“Since the city’s real estate was rated as one of the hardest hit, if not the hardest, my parents told me that I needed to buy something,” she said. “I had never really thought about owning a home before because prices in Chicago were so crazy that I figured I would just rent for the rest of my life.”
Burkemper’s wish list included no homeowners association and a large backyard.
“My primary goal was finding a house within my price range that was willing to sell to an actual homeowner,” she said. “Since so many properties were bank-owned at the time, I ran into a lot of places that would ignore my offer because the bank was waiting for a developer or flipper to come in with a cash offer.”
The recession also made it difficult for the 38-year-old to get a loan.
Burkemper applied for a Federal Housing Administration loan and her step-father agreed to lend her some money for the down payment and closing costs as she could repay him with the First Time Homebuyer’s Tax Credit the government was offering at the time.
“When the underwriters for my mortgage saw that deposit they asked for the statement from my step-father’s account so he sent that and then they asked for three months of statements and he refused, saying they had enough and either they were going to approve the loan or they weren’t,” Burkemper said.
Though she was supposed to close on the property at the end of August 2009, she didn’t actually receive the keys to her home until October.
“Someone in the bank had entered the closing date for the end of September and even though it was an internal error there was nothing that could be done to correct it,” she said. “My Realtor said that I could still be approved long before then, however, I was not. The underwriters took all the time they were given before they finally came back and said that I was approved for the loan.”
Despite the turmoil it took to get into her home, Burkemper still touts homeownership.
“When you’re renting and something breaks all you have to do is call someone; and homeownership means you have to take care of it yourself, which is a hassle, but owning your own property is living in a savings account,” she said. “You put in the time and effort of taking care of the home and when you’re ready for something bigger you sell your house for more than what you paid for it and with the extra money you put a down payment on a house that may just be your dream home.”
Burkemper added, “Having the freedom to live in a space that is yours, where no one can tell you how to do things, is a precious feeling that one I would recommend to just about anyone.”
Reporter Ann Friedman contributed to this report. Contact her at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Follow @AnnFriedmanRJ on Twitter.
