Single women are winning real estate
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Single women in California now own more homes than single men — and overall homeownership nationwide is majority female.
Why it matters: Sixty years ago, women couldn't even get a credit card or mortgage without a male cosigner. Now, even in San Diego's tight housing market, the share of single women homeowners eclipses that of single men.
State of play: The gender pay gap and inequitable caregiving responsibilities historically have served as barriers to homeownership for women, Axios' Brianna Crane and Alice Feng report.
- In recent years, however, the U.S. has seen a rise in the number of women homeowners — and a substantial shift toward women-led households — Urban Institute researcher Jung Hyun Choi tells Axios.
- Census data show that more than 11% of homes in California are owned by single women, compared to about 8% by single men.
Zoom in: In the San Diego metro area, 46% of single women own their homes compared to nearly 39% of single men, home improvement site Porch found in a 2022 analysis.
The big picture: Solo women mortgage applicants made up 18% of the market in 2023 — a share that's slowly grown since mortgage platform Maxwell started tracking applicants' gender and marital status in 2021.
Reality check: Opportunity isn't equal. Single Latina and Black women have the lowest homeownership rates of any group in the U.S.
- Single women with children also face low homeownership rates compared to other groups, including single men with children, Choi's research shows.