Women’s Homeownership: We’ve Come a Long Way, But There’s Still Room For Improvement

As a woman who grew up in Dallas in the 1980s and ’90s, I’ve experienced some of the inequities of womanhood. But I know that I stand on the shoulders of generations of women before me when I say that I’ve never had to worry about needing a man to purchase or own real estate.

While Women’s History Month just ended, at CandysDirt.com, we thought we’d take a quick look at just how far we’ve come in terms of women’s homeownership and female heads of household.

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act

As of 2023, single women made up 17 percent of homebuyers — the second largest group, behind couples. Such a statistic wouldn’t have been possible as recently as 1974 when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed. Between 1900 and 1974, women needed a male co-signer to apply for a mortgage. Before 1900, it was illegal for a woman to hold property in her name.

As it turns out, the ladies didn’t waste much time after the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Because while couples (either married or unmarried) have always held the No. 1 spot for home ownership, as of 1981, single women took over that No. 2 spot. Today, single women own and occupy 10.7 million homes in the U.S., compared to 8.2 million owned by single men.

Women’s Homeownership Today

According to the National Association of Realtors, the homeownership rate among women in the U.S. increased from 50.9 percent to 61.2 percent between 1990 and 2019. Similarly, according to census data, the share of households headed by single women increased from 17.6 percent to 22.6 percent during the same time period. Even among married two-earner households, it is increasingly common to see women as the head. Among married households, the share of women heads of household increased 24.3 percentage points, from 21.8 percent in 1990 to 46.1 percent in 2019.

Despite these gains, a recent Yale study showed that women pay approximately 2 percent more for housing than men, and sell for about 2 percent less. Another study by mortgage startup, Ownup, found that women pay more than men for their mortgages in 49 states. Zillow data in 2020 showed that houses owned by women tend to be worth less overall than male-owned homes — about 92.3 percent.

Women in Real Estate

As far as the business of real estate goes, women have long been a major part of the industry, both locally and nationally, but when the National Association of Realtors was founded, it was all male.

The first women were allowed to join in 1910, and by 1975, a third of its members were female. Today, 66 percent of Realtors are women. NAR named its first woman president in 1992, and has had six females at the helm since, including local leader, Leslie Rouda Smith, last year’s president.

Women’s Home Ownership in Texas vs. The U.S.

How do we stack up in the Lone Star State versus the rest of the country? According to the Texas Association of Realtors’ 2022 numbers, pretty much the same. On the charts below, you can see that in both the first-time and repeat buyers’ categories, single women have the second highest market share, at 19 percent vs. 19 percent, and 20 percent vs. 18 percent, respectively.

Taking Bias Out of The Equation

I wondered what these numbers look like in practice, so I spoke with Ashley Gentry, Realtor and manager with Redbranch Realty, and 2023 MetroTex President-Elect about her real-world experience with women’s home ownership in the last few years. Gentry’s experience with single purchasers matches the statistics — predominantly women.

“Women are empowered to procure real estate,” Gentry said. “It’s about home ownership, thinking long-term, and wealth building.”

I mentioned that I thought it was interesting that single women had so quickly taken over as the second-largest buying group back in 1981, and we had an interesting discussion about why that might have been.

“Some women more naturally want to put down roots, create a homestead, and focus on the future — whether it’s about having a family or not,” Gentry said. “I’ve had lots of clients that are looking for the perfect home for their pets while single men may tend to be more transient.”

We had a good laugh about NOT ALL MEN, and NOT ALL WOMEN. This was just speaking in generalizations about the numbers, so y’all take it easy.

I asked Gentry what she thought about the deficit in mortgage numbers and home values for men and women, and she had a really interesting take.

“This is why you need a great agent working with you,” she said. “I know that sounds like what a Realtor should say, but I mean it. People have all sorts of biases about all sorts of things, and your agent is there to take bias out of the equation.”