In what could be considered a case of “don’t believe everything you hear,” it turns out that single women are active when it comes to home buying in a big way.

According to Newsmax, new research about women is revealing.

Women earn less than their male counterparts, pay harsher workplace penalties for pursuing parenthood, struggle more with debt, and save less for retirement.

But the one area of personal finance where single women are outpacing men in the U.S. is an important one: home ownership.

Women have been pacing ahead of men in data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) since 1981, but Jessica Lautz, NAR’s managing director of survey research and communications says that the gap has widened even further in recent years.

“Single women are also likelier than single men to be parenting on their own, and therefore likelier to seek stable housing for raising children,” said Lautz.

“If you have children, it’s definitely going to play a role in where you’re thinking of living and how. And a mortgage can provide financial security. I think women, even with lower incomes, want a place where they can have roots and really own a place. The psychological desire to do that is great.”

And that was the case for Michelle Jackson, a 30-something writer from Denver.

“I wanted to have my own place,” Jackson said.

“A lot of people in my circle of friends were women purchasing their homes when they got married, but I still felt like I wanted to build my own wealth and buy. If and when I met someone, it’s something that just added to what I bring to the relationship. It didn’t make sense to wait.”

Jackson ended up being pre-approved for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage and had put an offer in on a small, one-bedroom home in a triplex in Denver for $72,500.

She still lives there, and the home was recently appraised for double what she paid. She wants to renovate and possibly buy another property nearby.

“I’m so happy,” said Jackson.

“It’s completely changed how I feel connected to the place where I’m living. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

The trend also runs contrary to popular belief  that women “feel the clock ticking” when it comes to settling down. One professor says that isn’t the case.

“Despite the stereotypes that insist that women care more about marriage than men do, it may actually be single life that women embrace more than men,” said Bella DePaulo, a professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the author of “Singled Out.”

“Some research suggests that single women are especially unlikely to be lonely—again, contrary to our stereotypes. … I think that buying a home is a way of living your single life fully, rather than seeing your single years as just marking time until you find The One.”

And for Rachel Weiss, a fashion executive in New York, she’s embraced that mantra, using a chunk of saved cash to work on a dream home in Manhattan.

“I outgrew my apartment 10 years ago, and buying a home was always in the back of my mind,” said Weiss.

“But I didn’t know what to do and never knew if I could afford an apartment. I started looking online at Trulia and Streeteasy, and the next day [real estate agents] started calling. It wasn’t premeditated or anything. It was almost like I was on Tinder for an apartment.”

Weiss ended up putting an offer down on a one-bedroom co-op in Chelsea for $640,000. It was accepted, and she moved in last August.

“There was a psychological aspect to it, too,” said Weiss.

“I’m in my 40s, and I looked at what my life was like. I’m not married, I don’t have kids. I can live alone, and fabulously. I feel empowered.”

A Single Female in Manufactured Housing Speaks

Linsey Bostick of Sunshine Homes, a single, millennial female, recently spoke to MHProNews and MHLivingNews on the topic of home ownership.

“Many desire to move from renting to owning, but often struggle to find that a real possibility in the current site-built market. The manufactured housing industry can offer a solution to that problem,” said Bostick.

Bostick has lived in several kinds of housing, and now is a manufactured homeowner herself, so she knows.

“Today’s manufactured homes can look and live like a conventional, site-built house, and can be half the price of new construction. Additionally, many manufactured homes are Energy Star rated, so they are more efficient than older, existing homes.”

The story on Millennials and quality affordable housing is linked here.

Associated research from Pew is available here, and here. ##

(Image credits are as shown above.)

Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.