It passed the 1 million buyer mark for the first time in 1998, and today, single women buy homes at twice the rate of single men. Twenty percent of all first-time homebuyers are now single women, and 15 percent are younger than 30, according to Mark Calabria, senior economist of the National Association of Realtors.
Many women name lifestyle choice as their main reason for buying a home.
Wise also says that owning a home gave her a sense of financial independence. Calabria also notes several other factors that contribute to the growing number of single female home buyers, including an overall strong economy, a variety of new first-time home buyer programs and programs that allow home buyers to make little or no down payment. Finally, Calabria notes that many single women tend to buy homes both for a financial investment and for a sense of security.