Home buyers, like the passengers on Noah’s ark, traditionally have showed up in pairs. But in recent years, a lot more singles are climbing on board and saying “I do” to homeownership.
Married couples still represent the majority of buyers, but their numbers have decreased considerably in the last two decades while the percentage of singles has escalated. Indeed, last year was a record year for never-been-marrieds, representing 22 percent of all buyers, according to Chicago Title & Trust’s annual study “Who’s Buying Homes in America.”
A strong economy and low interest rates have been the largest carrots luring singles into the homeownership arena, experts agree.
“The jump started in 1992 . . . that’s when interest rates dropped to about 7 percent,” points out John Pfister, who directs marketing research at Chicago Title & Trust Co.
Another incentive: Since tax codes changed in the mid-1980s, mortgage interest “remains the only meaningful deduction on 1040 forms,” adds Pfister.
Five years ago Peggy Meehan took the plunge.
“It made sense to do so,” says 33-year-old Meehan, a communications specialist for the Urban Land Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. At the time, Meehan was paying $800 in rent.
“I decided that if I could spend that much for rent, then I should buy,” says Meehan. “It made my stomach turn to write a check for $800 each month and give it to a landlord.”
Sociological shifts have also played a role, causing the demographic pool to grow deeper and wider. With more people postponing marriage or deciding to sidestep it altogether, the supply of singles is greater.
In 1995, one in four U.S. households was made up of just one person, according to census figures. That’s a sharp contrast to 50 years ago when fewer than one in 10 households was a solo act.
Even though many singles remain open-minded about matrimony, they want to scratch that itch for instant gratification. Why wait for Prince or Princess Charming before buying?
“It’s almost become the thing for singles to do,” says Rick Erdenberg, a principal of Erdenberg Otten Associates, a Chicago realty firm. “Members of the last generation (to enter the work force) are much more assertive with personal goals–with one of those being homeownership.”
When it comes to financing, singles are far more confident.
“Ten years ago, people didn’t think it was possible to get along by themselves in terms of getting a loan. Today, that’s not even a question. They expect loan packages to be available,” says Sharon Millett, president-elect of the National Association of Realtors.
The ranks of single home buyers should continue to swell, at least for the foreseeable future. Pfister looks for never-been-marrieds to peak at about 25 percent of annual buyers around 2002 or 2003. The numbers for divorced and separated buyers are smaller, but also growing.
The rising tide is expected to shore up middle-class homeownership in urban areas, because singles tend to buy near where they work and play.
“This is a hopeful sort of demographic change as far as inner cities of this country,” says Robert Engstrom, a Twin Cities-based developer.
It also creates new opportunities for developers, justifying sites that might have been skipped over because they weren’t family-friendly.
“First and foremost, singles don’t care about schools. That makes them wonderful candidates for in-town housing,” says M. Leanne Lachman, a demographer and managing director at Schroder Real Estate Associates in New York.
Although parents might like to be close to jobs, children remain their biggest priority, which has an uncanny way of stretching commutes.
“They’ll let the power of a good school system sway them, if they can afford it,” observes Jim Todd, president of The Peterson Development Cos. in Fairfax, Va.
That formidable doctrine of real estate–location, location, location–holds true for both singles and couples, but manifests itself differently.
For singles, a good neighborhood is blessed not with magnet schools or day-care facilities, but bars, restaurants, movie theaters, tennis courts, coffee houses–anything that offers recreational and socializing opportunities.
“In some ways, nighttime amenities are more important than daytime amenities,” says Lachman. “In contrast, families are more likely to be at home at night.”
As sole breadwinners, time is a precious commodity for singles. They appreciate convenience-oriented housing with dry cleaning services, package pick-up, and fitness centers. And security is not a serene street in suburbia, but having a door attendant or being near the train or bus stop.
Space is another differential. Not surprisingly, singles lean toward less square footage.
“Young couples tend to buy in the future . . . whereas singles look at their current lifestyle and buy accordingly,” says Tracy Cross, head of his own consulting firm in Schaumburg.
“I could have stretched more, but didn’t,” says Mary Hayes, a 35-year-old Chicago nurse who bought a two-bedroom condo in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood last fall.
“A lot of my married friends are willing to be house poor,” says Hayes. “But other things, like travel, are important to me.”
Right after closing, Hayes took off on a trip to Ireland and Scotland.
When it comes to spatial layout, single buyers prefer roomier master bedrooms, but aren’t picky about the size of secondary bedrooms. In contrast, young parents want bedrooms close together to keep watch over small fry.
Parents with teenagers prefer bedrooms spaced farther apart to preserve privacy and avoid close encounters with, say, a “Spice Girls” CD.
Formal dining rooms are not high on the shopping list for singles.
“They don’t want a great number of rooms. They like space that is open and flows well,” says Louise Nix, a real estate agent with Koenig & Strey in Chicago. In particular, single men seem to like seeing more of their property at a glance, sort of surveying the estate on a smaller scale.
At any rate, this affinity for openness has helped fuel the current loft boom in Chicago, where virtually any industrial warehouse with possibilities is being converted to residential space. Bridging the gap between modern high-rises and vintage condos, lofts provide new options for downtown buyers.
“Lofts offer a contemporary lifestyle, yet with exposed beams and bricks, they still have some sort of character and personality not found in vanilla high-rise boxes,” says Erdenberg, the real estate broker.
As singles make their presence known, developers are paying closer attention, because niche marketing is one way to bolster sales in a competitive building market.
Advertising is destined for some major shifts, predicts Randall Lewis, senior vice president of marketing at Lewis Homes, a builder in Upland, Calif. Currently, most builders advertise in real estate sections of newspapers, real estate circulars or on billboards.
“My hunch is that most singles don’t even look in the real estate section,” says Lewis. “We may have to reach them in different parts of the newspaper–maybe lifestyle or sports–or maybe cable television.”
Dipping into rental ranks may be another way to capture more of the singles market. Owning about 5,000 rental units, Lewis Homes has started to send information on for-sale homes to interested tenants.
Currently singles represent 5 to 10 percent of buyers at Lewis Homes. The builder’s offerings are located in suburbs–where singles typically don’t cluster.
Nevertheless, “If we get smarter, we might be able to take our percentage as high as 15 percent,” says Lewis. “To a builder, that’s a lot.”
Although marketing tactics might change, builders are lukewarm about striking out in new product directions. Universal design is a safer route to take, agreed most experts interviewed.
Besides, as they’ve grown in numbers, single buyers have become increasingly more diverse. Purchasing habits are evolving, making singles tough to pigeonhole.
“It’s really a mixed bag,” says Koenig & Strey’s Nix.
In Chicago, single buyers in their early and mid-20s like to settle in Lincoln Park whereas buyers in their late 20s and early 30s lean to Lake View.
“Although that’s changing,” says Nix. “Lake View is becoming more acceptable to the Lincoln Park crowd.”
Singles also are dropping significantly more dollars on real estate.
“Five or 10 years ago, they bought one-bedroom or two-bedroom product. Now singles are buying three-bedroom units and spending $400,000 and up,” says Bruce Abrams, president of LR Development in Chicago.
“Five years ago, it was very rare that we had single buyers in the higher end market. Even those singles with high net income wouldn’t have spent it on housing.”
Another shift: Singles are not limiting themselves to lofts, condos or townhouses. Attached homes continue to dominate, but more singles are buying detached property.
“And it’s not necessarily the smallest house,” observes Rosalind Edwards, a sales manager for the Shaw Co. in Chicago. “They’re buying their dream home . . . and they’re not waiting for a mate to help them with the process.”
Although new construction is still enticing to singles who don’t want maintenance hassles, there seems to be a burgeoning group of Bob Vila wannabes.
Take Rhonda Cook, an Atlanta journalist who bought a townhouse in 1993.
Last May, Cook got a yen for gardening and home repair and traded in her townhouse for a 90-year-old fixer-upper, renovating it almost single-handedly.
Cook chalks up her efforts partially to budget constraints, partially to impatience: “There was no way I could pay anyone to do everything I wanted done. Plus, I could do it on my schedule. I hate to wait.”
Armed with do-it-yourself books and a positive attitude, Cook replaced floors, repaired plumbing and electricity, fixed gutters, and hung chandeliers–shedding 22 pounds during the process.
“Putting in the kitchen ceiling was really nasty,” says Cook. But the worst job was installing insulation under the house, a subterranean experience requiring Cook to spend considerable time in a dirt crawl space, previously occupied by some kind of critter.
“I came out and kept thinking `What is that smell?’ Then I realized, `Oh, my gosh, it’s me,’ ” says Cook
Buying solo has its ups and downs, say singles. Because they bear all responsibilities, buyer’s remorse is more intense.
The first year after buying her townhouse, “I felt that I couldn’t breathe,” says Cook. Then she got a refund check back from Uncle Sam that was about seven times larger than she received as a renter.
“All of a sudden, there is more oxygen than you know what to do with,” says Cook.
After purchasing her three-bedroom rowhouse, Meehan came down with such a severe case of buyer’s remorse that she considered moving out.
The “what if” factor was unnerving, explains Meehan: “When you’re single, there’s no one to give you moral support and keep you from panicking.” But after finding a reliable plumber and electrician, her angst began to alleviate.
“Buyer’s remorse totally lifted when I did my taxes,” she adds.
Responsibilities may be heavier, but the flip side is being able to call the shots.
“One big advantage of being single is that I didn’t have anyone second-guessing me,” says Hayes, the Chicago nurse. Whether it was a question of which property to bid on or what kind of bathroom tile to select, there was no need for compromise.
That’s rare with couples, “unless the other person has the same exact taste as you or doesn’t care,” observes Hayes.
Many singles are surprised at the unexpected emotional attachment sparked by homeownership.
“It symbolizes a lot,” says Meehan, citing independence as well as memories of her father, who helped her with many improvement projects before his death.
“It’s created a real sense of place for me,” adds Meehan. “Before, I never bought anything that didn’t fit inside my car. Now I’m surrounded by things that define who I am and what my interests are.”
