{"id":42476,"date":"2026-03-25T19:02:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:02:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=42476"},"modified":"2026-03-25T19:02:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:02:34","slug":"single-women-first-time-homebuyers-income-beats-solo-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=42476","title":{"rendered":"Single women first-time homebuyers’ income beats solo men"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Toucanstudios | E+ | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Single women have long outpaced single men as homebuyers<\/a> \u2014 and they may be pulling ahead financially as well.<\/p>\n

Among first-time buyers, single women have a median income of $73,000 compared with $66,400 for single men, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers<\/a>, which analyzed transactions made between July 2024 and June 2025. The prior year’s report recorded median income of $73,100 for women and $87,500 for men, which continued a long-term trend of male buyers outearning their female counterparts.<\/p>\n

While it’s uncertain whether the flip is the start of a new trend, this is the first time the organization has found that the income<\/a> disparity favors women, said Jessica Lautz, deputy chief economist and vice president of research for NAR.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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More from Women and Wealth:<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The shift comes as single women account for 25% of first-time homebuyers, compared with 10% for single men. In 1985, those figures were 11% and 9%, respectively, according to the research. Among all homebuyers, 21% are single women and 9% are single men.<\/p>\n

“I think [single women] understand how homeownership is a wealth-building tool. They make sacrifices,” Lautz said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Women still lag behind men when it comes to pay<\/h2>\n
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Nevertheless, men still out-earn women overall, according to the Pew Research Center<\/a>. In 2024, women earned an average of 85% of what men earned, according to the organization. In 2003, that figure was 81%, and in 1982, it was 65%.<\/p>\n

Before that, women generally struggled to get a mortgage. While the 1968 Fair Housing Act<\/a> addressed housing discrimination, it wasn’t until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974<\/a> that women could reliably qualify for mortgages on their own.<\/p>\n

Since then, the share of homeowners they represent has grown. In 2022, single women owned 58% of the nearly 35.2 million homes owned by unmarried Americans, compared with 42% for single men, according to the Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Single women who are first-time homebuyers have a median age of 44, while for single men, it’s 39, the NAR research shows. For repeat buyers, the age difference is small: age 63 for women, age 64 for men.<\/p>\n

“What I see is women are not waiting to either get married or find a life partner before moving forward and accomplishing their financial goals<\/a>,” said certified financial planner Nicole Romito, a partner at Private Vista in Chicago who specializes in single women going through life transitions, including divorce or the death of a spouse or partner.<\/p>\n

“Homeownership is generally the top goal \u2014 or if not, one of the top three goals \u2014 that [clients] want to try to work toward or maintain when we look at their overall financial plan,” Romito said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Saving for a down payment can mean making sacrifices<\/h2>\n
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Owning a home has become a more elusive goal in recent years for many Americans as higher mortgage rates<\/a>, rising prices and a limited supply of homes for sale have pushed monthly payments out of reach for many buyers.<\/p>\n

For single buyers, relying on one income to qualify for a mortgage can make clearing those hurdles even harder, especially because home values have risen much faster than household incomes. From 2000 to 2024, median per-capita income grew by around 155%, while median home prices increased by about 207%, according to a recent study<\/a> from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The median price of an existing home of any type in February was $398,000, according to NAR. Saving for a down payment and closing costs \u2014 amounts paid when you finalize your purchase, such as title insurance or property taxes \u2014 can be a heavy lift<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“It’s difficult to save for a down payment while paying rent,” Lautz said.<\/p>\n

That’s when the sacrifices come in, Lautz said. Among single women buyers, 41% said they made financial sacrifices to save enough to buy a house, compared with 31% of men. That includes cutting back on things like non-essential goods, entertainment and clothes, canceling vacation plans and taking on a second job, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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