Single Women Homebuyers Outpace Single Men Buyers

Last weekend, I traveled down to Austin to take part in a SXSW panel for Realtor.com on one of my favorite topics: women homebuyers.

For those unfamiliar with my origin story, I first became interested in writing about personal finance after I wrote a semi-viral story on how Ken and I saved up $100,000 to buy our first apartment in New York City. To this day, I’ll meet people who remember one detail from that piece: Ken and his dedication to eating peanut butter sandwiches (no jelly!) every day in our effort to save for a down payment.

Buying that apartment was one of the most significant financial decisions of my life, but I didn’t understand it at the time. After seven years, we sold it, made a tidy profit, and used our equity to buy a two-bedroom condo, where we’ve lived ever since. We got lucky in 2021 and were able to refinance our mortgage for an even lower interest rate, making our housing costs very manageable. That was one big factor that allowed me to leave my full-time corporate job to launch The Purse.

Among financial influencers, it’s very popular to talk about all the reasons homeownership sucks. There can be a lot of unexpected expenses that pop up when you own your own home. And I’ve certainly had firsthand experience with that in the last six months, as we’ve had to replace both our hot water heater and our fridge. But a bigger problem than maintenance is people frequently buying homes they simply can't afford. And it’s true: It’s no fun to be house poor.

These financial influencers also seek to dispel the myth that buying a home is a good financial investment. Here’s where things get a little tricky. Historically, the value of houses has not risen at the same rate as, say, money you invest in the stock market. But homeownership is also traditionally the foundation of generational wealth. One major reason that Black Americans typically have less wealth than their white peers is because systemic racism basically cut them out of the post-WWII housing boom.

Right now, though, housing in the U.S. is outrageously expensive, and I understand why these financial influencers might downplay the importance of homeownership at a time when so many people in this country simply can’t afford it. The rent-versus-buy debate is also great for getting views on TikTok, TBH!

Still, there’s one group of homebuyers who don’t seem to be disturbed by rising costs: single women. And women’s interest in homeownership isn’t anything new—this is a decades-old trend.

Women only got the right to take out a mortgage without a male cosigner in 1974. In 1981, the National Association of Realtors started tracking homeownership rates among single women, single men, married couples, and unmarried couples. Unsurprisingly, married couples have always dominated—saving up a down payment is easier with two incomes. But single women have always outpaced single men—and as of 2024, they lead single men by a rate of more than two to one.

When I think of single female homebuyers, I imagine young career women who decide they don’t want to wait around for a partner to achieve this big milestone. In reality, the median age for these first-time homebuyers is 40 (and age 60 for repeat buyers). Oftentimes, they are single moms, or they are looking for multi-generational properties where they can also care for aging parents. To these buyers, homeownership is not necessarily about the financial investment but the stability that comes with locking in a mortgage rate and feeling confident that they don’t have to worry about a landlord hiking the rent or selling the building. (Of course, there are other variable costs, like insurance and property taxes.)

All those years ago, I wrote about my own path to homeownership because I didn’t like the way that the media covered millennial women and money. I thought we needed a different narrative. That desire has never gone away—arguably it’s stronger than ever since I launched The Purse, and women still remain woefully underserved by the financial services industry. We don’t want you to slap a pink bow and a cutesy name on your marketing materials. We want you to recognize and respect our economic power.

Yes, buying a house in the year 2026 is expensive. But that isn’t stopping millions of single women from being a dominant force in the market. It may seem out of reach, but if it’s a personal goal, I’d push you to look past the headlines and viral TikToks and consider your own financial dreams.

Photo by David Price, courtesy of Realtor.com

A big thank-you to my fellow panelists, Anna Marie Castiglioni (head of Realtor.com Next), Sheryl Palmer (CEO of Taylor Morrison), and Dr. Jessica Lautz (deputy chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Realtors).

-Lindsey

Homebuying in the news

A record 20 million single women now own homes in the U.S., according to a new report from First American Financial Corp.
“In 1991, the typical first-time buyer was able to purchase a home by the time they were 28 years old. That number gradually climbed to 33 in 2020, then shot up to 36 in 2022 and 38 in 2024,” The New York Times reported last November. The median age hit 40 last year. “It’s kind of a shocking number,” our friend Dr. Lautz told the Times.
In order for young people to be able to afford homes, the prices need to come down. Obviously, that’s not a good thing for existing homeowners, who are sitting on a “near-record $34.4 trillion of housing equity,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
The number of single women in China buying homes is also increasing, The New York Times reported in 2023.
Being a homeowner is not necessarily all sunshine and roses. “Recognizing that homeownership is a mixed bag for many women might sharpen broader awareness of the myth of homeownership in America as a key to wealth-building and economic mobility,” wrote Robin Bartram and Japonica Brown-Saracino, two sociology professors, wrote in Bloomberg.
In 2023, Alicia profiled a single woman homebuyer for Fortune who posted about her homebuying journey on TikTok and ended up being gifted $4,000 worth of home goods from strangers who watched her videos.
A third (33%) of Black homebuyers are single women, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Self and Allure editor-in-chief, Jessica Cruel, (who’s also my former R29 colleague) has an illuminating Instagram series on her life as a landlord overseeing a number of rental properties. She’s a total badass!
Gen Z and millennials who feel locked out of the housing market are investing in the stock market instead, The Wall Street Journal reports.
I’m low-key obsessed with Ayesha Rascoe, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday, and I loved this story about how she and her best friend co-purchased a home, where they are living and raising their kids post-divorce.
You can read a recap of the SXSW panel here! Thank you to Allaire Conte for the great write-up!

What else we’re talking about

I’m obsessed with what Katie Drummond is doing at Wired, so I really appreciated this profile of her in The New York Times. -Alicia
I just finished Belle Burden’s divorce memoir, Strangers (review coming soon to The Purse), and I immediately clicked on Charlotte Cowles’ recent piece for The Cut on the stay-at-home-mom divorcé. All these stories about women who have no control over their financial lives makes me sad but also hopeful that these conversations will help other people avoid similar mistakes. -Lindsey
I talk about this in the TikTok below, but I’m so glad The New York Times covered what’s going on with the Giving Pledge, the Warren Buffett–led initiative encouraging the world’s richest people to give away their entire fortunes. I’ve been curious if this new age of billionaire-dom we find ourselves in has shifted the philanthropic priorities of the uber rich and, spoiler alert, it has. -Alicia
I was really interested in this Wall Street Journal article by friend of The Purse Oyin Adedoyin about how personal finance classes are replacing econ in high schools across the U.S. I’m all for students learning about personal finances at a younger age, but it bums me out a little that it’s at the expense of another important discipline. My greatest academic regret is that I didn’t take economics in college. Everyone told me it was too hard! But as a journalist, I find it so fascinating, especially behavioral economics, and I think I would have enjoyed the mix of data and storytelling. -Lindsey

On our radar

NYC spring break is coming up, and we’re heading to Phoenix and Sedona for the week with my parents. Any recommendations on things to do and see and places to eat? I’ve never been to Arizona, and I’m very excited! -Lindsey

TikTok of the week

@aliciatalksmoney
The Giving Pledge is falling out of favor with billionaires, according to the NYT. #billionaire #wealth #charity
♬ original sound - Alicia Adamczyk

Stat of the week

72% of Gen Z say they rely on someone else to help them file their taxes.

- Credit Karma report. (I mean, can you blame them?)

Comment of the week

“My carry-on bag list includes Fishwife Trout or Tuna, crackers, Emerald Snack Packs ‘Walnut, Almond and Dried Cherries,’ EO Lavender Hand Wipes, multiple tins of Altoids and a few packets of True Lemon (conference center lunch eateries can be bland). All of these are all small enough to pack for a long conference day.”

-Glenyse answering Alicia’s question, “What are your conference must-haves?”

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What else we published on The Purse

Don't shy away from these awkward conversations

The best money we spent this week

Last week I mentioned Chris and I were going to a jazz show—well it was so much fun, and while Chris paid for dinner, I got our drinks (and a brownie for dessert) at the show! (~$40) -Alicia
I was shocked when I read that, on average, Americans spend roughly 30 minutes socializing each day. That doesn’t feel like nearly enough. So even though I was very tired last night, I went to meet up with my mom friends for a drink. I’m so glad I did! Time and money well spent. ($10) -Lindsey