WASHINGTON–Credit unions seeking a potential new market to target for mortgage lending should consider single women, according to a new analysis.
Data released by the National Association of Realtors as part of a new report shows that in 1985 81% t of homebuyers were married couples, a figure that is closer to 66% today, even though the number of unmarried couples buying homes has only barely grown. What has changed the ratio is the number of single women who are homebuyers.
The NAR data show that 17% of homebuyers are now single women, up from just 11% in 1981. The same report found the proportion of home-buying single men, on the other hand, shrank over the same period to 7% from 10%.
The Realtors Group said that on average, single women homebuyers fetch an annual income of $55,300, as compared to $69,600 for single men buying homes. Female purchasers also tend to be older, with a median age of 50 to the unmarried man’s 47.