Single women fulfill their dreams of ownership
November 6th, 2008
From The Oregonian by Connie Potter
After years of writing a check to a landlord each month, Adrienne Livingston decided to invest in herself instead. Last fall she bought a new two-bedroom condominium a couple of blocks from Clackamas Town Center.
“I didn’t want to pay another person’s mortgage anymore,” she said.
It’s a decision that a growing number of single women are making. One-fourth of all first-time homebuyers were single women, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2007 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Single women make up more than one-third of the growth in real estate ownership since 1994.
Even today’s volatile economy and uncertain housing market aren’t deterring women from having a goal of home ownership, said Michelle Puggarana, program manager for the Portland Housing Center, a nonprofit organization that helps first-time home buyers.
Single women come to the closing table with a variety of life experiences. Some have never been married; some are divorced or widowed. Some live alone, some live with children, friends or partners. But they share some common preferences in housing. According to the NAR, single women buyers tend to:
- Prefer two bedrooms or more
- Choose resales over new construction
- Buy in city rather than suburban areas
- Be unwilling to compromise on location or quality of neighborhood
- Prefer condos or townhomes with well-run homeowners’ associations
- Desire security and/or gated access
- Want proximity to stores, shopping and fitness centers