To Buy or Not to Buy

Recently, I was talking to a single friend who was discussing buying her first home. She found the perfect little home for herself. She was excited, but there were complications and she ended up not buying the house. She told me later she was happy the deal fell through as she didn't want to purchase a house by herself, she would rather buy a house with her husband. I couldn't help thinking about what she said and how society made her feel like this is another thing that single women shouldn't do on their own.

Back in the day men held the purchasing power and women were the homemakers caring for the house. Homes were bought when a married couple started their lives together. With men and women getting married in their 30s and 40s these days it only makes sense that more women will be home owners before they get married. How exciting! Most single women I know in NYC (myself included) consider buying their first apartment with a sense of pride and independence. And it looks like they are not alone. According to the National Association of Realtors, single women make up 22% of new home buyers compared to just 9% of single men. More than one in five home buyers is a single woman. Hmmm, seems like it's the men that wait until marriage before buying a home.

What do you think about home ownership as a single woman? Isn't it time for society (and my friend) to catch up to the reality that it's the single women who are the ones in the real estate market buying homes. Now if I could just figure out how to get that 20% downpayment.