The biggest asset owned by most Americans is their home. It is the foundation of their wealth and economic value. But unfortunately, the rock is less important to one sex than another.
For single women, a study by Yale University management shows that wealth accumulation through home equity lags behind that of single men, according to a “residential gender gap.” Women pay more to buy a house and make less mow when they sell it. They can afford to buy a small chunk of houses in the market, and the houses they buy tend to be less valuable, resulting in a less valuable interest in ownership, other studies have shown.
There are various reasons for this situation, including the continued gender pay gap that has narrowed slightly over the past 20 years but continues to exist. As a result, women have approximately 1.5% less annual returns from their homes per year than men. And “Overall, housing gender differences explain up to 30% of the gender gap in wealth accumulation,” Yale’s study states.
Women and Real Estate History
Women today have the same rights as men in terms of acquiring and owning property. But that wasn’t always the case. They were able to inherit the property and by 1900 they were able to retain the title under their own name, but it was often difficult to buy. In fact, until the 20th century, American women were not able to take away their mortgages without having men co-sign their applications. It was technically legal for banks to refuse loans or achievements to unmarried women, or require married women applicants to have their husband’s permission.
With the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, things began to change.
“The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for women to be discriminated against when buying a home and securing a mortgage,” says Mind The Gender Gap, Inc, a consulting firm focused on gender equity. says Miloney Thakrar, founder and principal of the film. “With the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974, it has become illegal for creditors such as lenders and brokers to sexually identify them, including sexual orientation, gender identity and marriage status.
These two federal laws have significantly smoothed out women’s path to landlords, along with increasing profitability and presence for women in the workplace. In 1981, 73% of home buyers were married couples, with only 11% being single women and 10% being single men, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Fast forward to 2024: 62% of home buyers are married, but 20% are single women and 8% are single men.
In fact, single women have purchased more homes each year than single men since at least 1981. For single women in the real estate market, the best year ever was in 2006, when they accounted for 22% of home buyers.
But that doesn’t mean it’s easy for women. Especially in the current market situation, said Jessica Rautz, NAR’s Associate Chief Economist and Vice President of Research. “Single women face increasingly affordable housing markets, buying with the lowest household income,” says Lautz.
Still, she adds, “Single women are such a force in the market and may be perceived by experts such as mortgage brokers and real estate agents, and that these women are in their homework and their intrusions, they will get over it.”
Economic Issues
Despite all the advancements, achieving homeownership and substantial home equity remains challenging for many women. Much of this has to do with the fact that they make less lower payments and take away bigger mortgages. In other words, they start with less ownership interests than single men.
When it comes to purchasing, difficulties are often due to economic issues. According to Bankrate’s down payment survey, coming up with cash can be difficult for women. Over half (54%) of female respondents considered costs from payments and closure costs as a very important obstacle. And, “How long do you expect it to cost you to save your down payment at home?” Not once It saves a lot compared to just 17% of men who felt that way.
Women’s disability to home ownership and home equity
“There is a huge difference between household incomes for single men and women who buy a home. Household income affects the number of homes in the price range, making searching more difficult in some areas,” says Rautz.
Single women make more financial sacrifices and buy more life than single men five years later.
– Jessica Lautz
Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of Realtors
“The woman trying to ride the first rung of the homeowner’s ladder starts from behind,” agrees Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at real estate platform Zillow. “This is because single mothers experience significant wage gaps. In addition to labor market gaps, research shows that women tend to have a worse experience in the credit market than men.”
A 2022 Zillow survey found that women have 18% less access to the real estate market than men due to wage gaps. This means that if you make as much money as a man’s counter, you can buy almost a fifth of the available houses (and perhaps more expensive houses). This contributes to the “home value gap.” The fact is that homes owned by women tend to be of less value overall than homes owned by male households. In particular, according to Zillow data, it is equivalent to 92% of homes owned by men.
Negotiation skills are behind men
In addition to all the challenges already mentioned, Yale’s research shows that women pay more for the homes they buy. Rather, they negotiate a worse discount compared to the regular price of the home,” Yale’s study states. Frankly, they don’t negotiate the same way as male home buyers.
“Unfortunately, women are known to be less good at negotiating than men. They chalk them out for practice or varying levels of comfort in one-on-one negotiations,” says Laura Adams, personal finance author and speaker. “It might leave them buying a house at a higher price than their male counterparts.”
And for the mortgage, we negotiated a bit from the price count. Even paying $5,000 or $10,000 for the purchase price of a home can really increase over time, making it difficult to develop a lot of fairness, says Adams.
Yale’s research shows that when both handicapped women who tried to negotiate and women on the sales side, they tend to buy at a higher price and collect lower income from the sales side, despite buying at a higher price.
Women wait a long time to buy
Yet another factor affects the amount of home equity wealth women accumulates is waiting longer to buy a home. According to NAR data, the median age of first-time home buyers for single women is 40 years old, while the male counterpart is 34 years old. It can be primarily due to economic reasons – it takes more time to accumulate women. (Bankrate’s down payment survey showed how long do you expect it to take to save for a down payment if asked? 74% of aspiring female homeowners expected it to take at least a year.
In many cases, “women feel that they need to have a partner to buy a home (still),” says Stephanie Douglas, a Texas-based real estate agent. “Maybe they feel they’re not convenient or something that they think is too dangerous for them to do it themselves, but they’re waiting, they’re losing so much fairness.”
The current interest rate environment is another reason why single women are increasingly reluctant to buy, Douglas adds. “They still understand the benefits of home ownership, but interest rates make it very difficult to afford mortgages here in Austin and across the country,” Douglas says. “Single women are those who have to wait more frequently for interest rates.”
The good news is that an up-and-coming generation is not holding back home ownership. According to Bankrate’s Homebuying Trends Survey, 34% of Gen Xers (ages 44-59) and 34% of Gen Xers (ages 44-59) and 34% of 34% (ages 44-59) and 34% (ages 44-59) and 34% (ages 44-59) and 34% (ages 44-43) purchased the house alone.
Getting a Home Equity Loan: Single vs Married
The application and review process for getting a home equity loan today is not different to a married couple for singles. It also does not differ depending on gender. Generally, lenders consider the same type of criteria – credit score, debt-to-income ratio (DTI), income, and stock amount within the household.
Furthermore, by law, lenders cannot deny loan applicants based on marriage status status, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Nor can you deny individual credits for married people in your name. Lenders are also prohibited from evaluating applicants based on their sexual orientation, such as sexual orientation, gender identity, or sexually related status (such as pregnancy).
“This process doesn’t make much difference between married couples and singles,” says Thakrar. “However, considering all qualifications, the process for married couples can take time, as it can take time to gather and analyze all the information needed to make a decision.”
The process of obtaining a Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line (HELOC) is not different, but single women may be less likely to tap than single women. As the Zillow report shows, houses owned by women generally have less value overall. And of course, wage disparities can lead to a single female applicant having less income, less assets, and increased debt, which could reduce the likelihood of obtaining approval or the best loan terms.
History of mortgage discrimination
Discrimination between housing and mortgages has been an issue that has impacted the landscape of American home use for over a century. In particular, Redlining practices dating back to the 1930s involved lenders who lived in black people (and other non-white groups) and outlined them in red areas on the map, classified as highly dangerous investments. This systematic separation included refusal to fundraising and other housing-related services and race-based opportunities.
Women have historically been affected by mortgage discrimination in other ways. There is a higher proportion of female-only borrowers, and mortgages are denied more than male-only counterparts. The rejection rate is higher than that of couples. They were also unfairly victimized by the term “pinklining,” a term introduced in a 2016 survey funded by several nonprofit organizations. This refers to practices that systematically target women, targeting and subjecting exploitative, predatory lending technologies and products. Women of color in particular, the “Pink Lining” report states that “even if they qualify for a Prime loan, they are still piloted towards a subprime loan.” He says the high interest rates, fees and penalties on these loans will increase the likelihood that female homeowners will fall into constant, severe debt traps and foreclosures.
And, not surprising, progress in homeownership has not been equal for all women. A report by the Urban Institute shows that 70% of households with white women were homeowners in 2019, while 59% of Asians, 45% of blacks and 40% of households with heads of Hispanic women own their homes.
But despite all this and their weaker credit/income qualifications, women have fewer mortgage defaults than their male counterparts, a study from the Urban Institute found. This fact applies to all ethnic groups.
Efforts to end mortgage discrimination
The Fair Housing Act, a subsection of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibited redlines and discrimination practices in the real estate industry. That protection was extended by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974. This prohibits discrimination against credit or loan applicants, particularly based on gender or marriage status status, and in the 1976 amendment, it was revised based on race, color, or religion.
Subsequent Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) sought to address discrimination in mortgages in a proactive way. The CRA, adopted in 1977, requires that the Federal Reserve and other federal bank regulators “encourage financial institutions to help meet the credit needs of communities that operate in business, including low and medium income regions,” the Federal Reserve states.
The U.S. Agency for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) carries out these actions. We also operate fair housing and equal opportunities offices that ensure that everyone and everyone have equal housing opportunities, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, disability, national origin or family status.
Although there may still be jobs to do more work based on gender and race. “Discrimination based on sex and family status, along with discrimination based on disability and race, is one of the most common fair housing complaints filed with federal agencies,” the National League of Cities said.
Single women… despite their family incomes being low, they prioritize homeownership.
– Jessica Lautz
Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research at the National Association of Realtors
Resources for women seeking home equity loans
If you are a single woman looking for a mortgage or home equity loan or HELOC, there are resources available to educate you about these products.
Available resources include:
In reality, there are resources that can help women become homeowners.
These resources include:
Conclusions on the gender gap in housing
The gender gap in housing is not a problem that is resolved overnight, and many of its underlying causes — inequality, difficulties in funding — go beyond the control of one individual. However, there are ways that women can cope with the behavior of buying at home.
First of all, understand the local real estate scene. “It’s important to know if it’s a buyer or a seller’s market and whether there are many homes in the market during negotiations,” Douglas says. Arming with that information is important to the position of the negotiation.
When it comes to negotiating, “Leave it on the table and know the cards you’re willing to leave,” adds Douglas. “I often have a woman and a very emotional tie who think, ‘I love this house’ and ‘This is where I want to be’. It is important to cut off the emotional tie. You also need to reasonably consider purchasing as an investment and wealth building asset.
In doing so, it will help women to set up sounders housing and make decisions about building home equity.
