• Single women in the US are outpacing men in homebuying, the National Association of Realtors found.
• In 2024, single women represent 20% of all homebuyers, compared to 8% for single men.
• Three single women shared with BI their motivations for buying a home without a partner or a spouse.

Karla Cobreiro, 33, lived with her parents for nearly a decade after college, diligently saving to buy her own home.

"I didn't want to be house-poor or struggle financially," Cobreiro, a publicist, told Business Insider. "I waited for the right moment — when I had a higher-paying job, had saved up a large down payment, and had built a solid emergency fund.

In 2022, she purchased a 900-square-foot condo in Downtown Doral, a Miami suburb, for around $400,000. She was 31 and single.

"I didn't have a partner at the time, but I didn't think that should stop me," Cobreiro said. "So I went for it."

Cobreiro is one of many single women in the US who haven't let the absence of a relationship or marriage stop them from buying a home — an achievement long seen as a key milestone of wealth building and the American dream.

An analysis of data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that single women have consistently outpaced single men in homebuying since the organization began tracking data in 1981.

The chart below shows that since 2020, the share of single women homebuyers has continued to increase steadily, while the share of single men has declined.

By 2024, the gap has reached its widest, with single women representing 20% of all homebuyers, compared to 8% for single men.

Single women find independence in homeownership

So why are single women statistically more likely to purchase homes than single men?

Brandi Snowden, NAR's director of member and consumer survey research, told BI that it largely comes down to lifestyle choices and women's unique societal roles.

Snowden explained that many single women purchase homes because they desire independence, have experienced divorce, and are responsible for raising children.

NAR found that female buyers are typically older than their male counterparts, with the median age for single women at 60, compared to 58 for single men.

"These buyers may be recently divorced or purchasing a home not just for themselves but also for their children and parents," Snowden said.

"It's just me and this mortgage."

Cobreiro said that buying a home without a spouse has its own challenges, such as settling for a smaller condo since she's not part of a DINK household — an acronym for "dual income, no kids."

Data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances shows that DINKs have a median net worth of over $200,000. This financial advantage enables them to more easily afford housing or spend their disposable income on luxuries like boats and expensive cars.

Despite the financial benefits of a two-income household, many women have chosen to live independently in an era of increasing financial and social autonomy.

Cobreiro is responsible for a 30-year mortgage, which includes $2,500 in monthly payments and an additional $1,000 in HOA fees — all of which fall entirely on her.

"Though I live comfortably, If I get laid off, break a leg, or face an emergency, I'm on my own, she said. "I always joke to my friends, "It's just me and this mortgage."

Still, she believes the benefits of sole home ownership outweigh the risks of waiting to purchase with a boyfriend.

"I'm glad I didn't wait until I was in a relationship or married to buy a home," she said. "Owning a home with someone you're not committed to can get tricky, especially if you break up. There's no prenup; if you disagree about selling, that can get messy."

Some women say no prenup, no co-owning

New Yorker Jessica Chestler, 33, shares a similar perspective to Cobreiro.

In 2022, Chestler, a real-estate agent with Douglas Elliman and a business owner, purchased a three-bedroom condo in Williamsburg for $3.25 million.

She told BI that she viewed homeownership as an investment in her future, one she wasn't willing to risk with someone she wasn't fully committed to.

"When you're buying a home with someone else, there's obviously a lot more to consider, especially if you're not married," Chestler said. "There's always that uncertainty: What happens if you break up — how do you divide the assets?"

Chestler, who also renovated her home, said the greatest benefit of owning solo is the ability to rely on herself and the freedom to live on her own terms.

"I only had to consider myself," she said. "I didn't have to worry about anyone else's opinion. I loved the apartment, knew my numbers, and was confident I could make it work — That sense of comfort was really important to me."

Women say they don't need a knight in shining armor

Some single women who buy homes may have boyfriends but aren't waiting for a ring to start building wealth through home equity.

Take real-estate agent Ayriel Von Schert, who, in February, purchased a 2,280-square-foot townhouse for $365,000 in Mesa, Arizona, without a cosigner.

Although Von Schert, 30, is in a long-term committed relationship, she wanted to take control of her financial future.

"I think many women feel the same way: Why wait for someone else to help you achieve your goals?" she told BI.

Her decision to buy alone could pay off in the long run. Another unit in Von Schert's complex is on the market for $410,000. If it sells for that price, her home will have appreciated by about $35,000 in one year.

"In a few years, I might sell this place or keep it and rent it out while buying another property," she said. "My long-term goal is to build a real estate portfolio and earn residual income, and I feel like I'm definitely on the right path."

For now, she and her boyfriend are living like roommates, equally splitting the bills for the home, including utilities and the mortgage.

She said it's a win-win situation for both of them.

"I don't think he minds because we no longer have a landlord telling us what we can or can't do," she said.

Are you a single or unmarried woman who purchased a home? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• The US housing market might be much more friendly to homebuyers in 2025.
• Home sales should rise significantly as inventory grows and prices inch higher.
• Here are 10 real-estate markets that could see a surge of activity next year.

Homebuyers should stock up on champagne — and not just for New Year's Eve.

Next year may present long-awaited opportunities for aspiring property owners to trade their apartments for homes, or for families to get the upgrades they've been pining for. There's a growing sense among real-estate analysts that an extended home sales contraction will snap in 2025 as housing inventory rises and mortgage rates fall.

"Homebuyers will have more success next year," said Lawrence Yun, the chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, in a statement about the firm's 2025 outlook. "The worst of the affordability challenges are over as more inventory, stable mortgage rates, and continued job and income growth pave the way for more Americans to achieve homeownership."

Housing market transactions will soar 7% to 12% in the year ahead to 4.5 million units before an even larger 10% to 15% jump in 2026, according to the NAR. New home sales are expected to climb 11% next year and 8% the year after.

Earlier this month, real-estate brokerage titan eXp Realty's CEO told Business Insider that sales could advance 10% in 2025, though Realtor.com called for a comparatively modest 1.5% gain.

But a home sales boom seems plausible, based on what should be healthy supply and demand.

That inventory uptick will keep property price growth in check at only 2% in each of the next two years, the NAR predicted, which would translate to a median existing-home price of $410,700. And buyers may also move off the sidelines as mortgage rates drift toward 6% from around 7%, the firm added.

"If rates stabilize around 6%, about 6.2 million households can once again be able to afford median-priced homes, compared to the current constraints with rates near 7%," the NAR noted.

Slower home-price growth and lower mortgage rates will go a long way toward easing the affordability crisis that has plagued the US since the pandemic. Just over a year ago, buyers suffered through the least affordable quarter since 1985. That may soon be a distant memory.

10 hot real-estate markets

Home sales should surge across the US next year, especially in a healthy economy with solid job gains. However, researchers at the NAR expect certain cities to be far busier than others.

Buyers will flock to 10 top housing markets in 2025 due to a combination of rising home supply, manageable mortgage rates, and healthy local economies, the firm said. Healthy demand should underpin further home-price appreciation for owners in those metropolitan areas.

These soon-to-be-hot markets share several similarities, including strong property price growth since the pandemic, a sizable supply of starter homes, positive net migration, and an outsized share of out-of-state movers who are buying homes. Other factors were a market's job growth, mortgage rates, how long most homeowners had been there, and the share of millennial renters who could buy. The NAR outlined its full methodology for this exercise in a press release.

Below are the 10 real-estate markets that the NAR is bullish on next year, along with select economic and demographic considerations.

Along with each metro area is its home price growth in the last five years, starter homes as a share of total inventory, the share of homeowners who've been in place for more than 16 years and therefore may be ready to sell, net migration ratio, the share of out-of-state movers purchasing homes, job growth since late 2019, and commentary from the NAR.

1. Boston, Massachusetts

Price appreciation history: 51.5%

Starter homes as share of inventory: 41.1%

Share of long-term homeowners: 10.2%

Net migration to population ratio: 0.1

Share of out-of-state purchasers: 18.8%

Job growth history: -0.2%

Commentary: "Boston's housing market is expected to see significant benefits from stabilizing mortgage rates. With fewer locked-in homeowners, the impact of the 'lock-in effect' may lessen in the coming year as rates stabilize near 6%, encouraging more homeowners to sell and easing inventory constraints in this supply-tight market. Additionally, Boston's mortgage rates have been relatively lower than the national average, which provides a competitive edge in today's challenging financing environment. A lower rate could help mitigate some of the affordability pressures. Surprisingly, Boston has also a larger proportion of starter-homes, with about 41% of the owner-occupied units valued below $550,000."

2. Charlotte, North Carolina

Price appreciation history: 72.8%

Starter homes as share of inventory: 72.8%

Share of long-term homeowners: 46.9%

Net migration to population ratio: 1.4

Share of out-of-state purchasers: 23.5%

Job growth history: 10.1%

Commentary: "With an impressive 10% job growth over the last five years and strong migration gains, Charlotte's economy and housing market are poised for continued growth. More than 11% of the households are set to reach the age of 35 to 40 within the next five years, ensuring sustained demand for housing. Prospective buyers in Charlotte also benefit from a wider range of affordable options, as 43% of homes fall within the starter-home category (priced less than $324,000), making the market particularly appealing to first-time buyers and young families."

3. Grand Rapids, Michigan

Price appreciation history: 64.4%

Starter homes as share of inventory: 39.6%

Share of long-term homeowners: 50.7%

Net migration to population ratio: 0.2

Share of out-of-state purchasers: 38.7%

Job growth history: 3.1%

Commentary: "Grand Rapids offers a unique combination of affordability and promising long-term prospects. With 36% of Millennial renters able to afford homeownership and 12% of households entering prime homebuying age within the next five years, the demand for housing will remain strong. A smaller proportion of originations with rates below 6%, compared to the national level, suggests a reduced 'lock-in effect,' which could lead to more inventory in this area. Additionally, the availability of starter-homes allows newcomers to purchase a home and establish roots, making Grand Rapids a standout market for 2025."

4. Greenville, South Carolina

Price appreciation history: 68.8%

Starter homes as share of inventory: 42.2%

Share of long-term homeowners: 49.7%

Net migration to population ratio: 1.7

Share of out-of-state purchasers: 43%

Job growth history: 8%

Commentary: "Greenville stands out as the area that checks off the most criteria on NAR's top 10 list. This area particularly benefits from a strong net migration rate and affordability. The metro's average mortgage rate of 6.9% in 2023 is well below the national average, providing additional relief for buyers. With 42% of homes categorized as starter homes and 43% of movers purchasing homes, Greenville offers accessibility and stability for families and young professionals alike."

5. Hartford, Connecticut

Price appreciation history: 62.8%

Starter homes as share of inventory: 38.7%

Share of long-term homeowners: 58.1%

Net migration to population ratio: 0.3

Share of out-of-state purchasers: 45%

Job growth history: 0.2%

Commentary: "Hartford offers a favorable financing environment, with an average mortgage rate of 6.5% in 2023 — one of the lowest among the top markets — enhancing affordability for buyers. Additionally, Hartford holds the highest proportion of homeowners surpassing the area's average tenure of 17 years, indicating a potential increase in local inventory, which could help alleviate supply constraints."

6. Indianapolis, Indiana

Price appreciation history: 60%

Starter homes as share of inventory: 41.7%

Share of long-term homeowners: 48.5%

Net migration to population ratio: 0.5

Share of out-of-state purchasers: 21.7%

Job growth history: 9.3%

Commentary: "Indianapolis earned a spot on the list due its strong job growth and housing affordability, which continue to attract new residents and foster a stable demand for housing. Nearly 42% of the housing stock is priced below $236,000, making the market especially appealing to first-time buyers and young families. With fewer 'locked-in' homeowners than the national level, this area is likely to see more available inventory as mortgage rates stabilize around 6% next year."

7. Kansas City, Missouri/Kansas

Price appreciation history: 59.9%

Starter homes as share of inventory: 41%

Share of long-term homeowners: 50%

Net migration to population ratio: 0.3

Share of out-of-state purchasers: 25%

Job growth history: 4.8%

Commentary: "Kansas City is one of the few areas with both a lower average mortgage rate and smaller share of locked-in homeowners, creating favorable conditions for financing and increased inventory. This area is also one of the most affordable markets for Millennial renters, with one in three of them able to afford homeownership. This affordability, combined with its competitive financing environments, makes Kansas City a key player among top-performing housing markets in the coming year."

8. Knoxville, Tennessee

Price appreciation history: 90.9%

Starter homes as share of inventory: 42%

Share of long-term homeowners: 52.9%

Net migration to population ratio: 1.6

Share of out-of-state purchasers: 48.9%

Job growth history: 8.8%

Commentary: “Knoxville made up the top 10 list due to its strong migration gains and the appeal it holds for new residents seeking long-term stability as nearly 50% of movers in Knoxville chose to purchase a home. The impact of the ‘lock-in effect’ is expected to be less pronounced here, as fewer borrowers hold mortgages with rates below 6%. At the same time, homeowners in Knoxville have built substantial wealth, with home prices now nearly double their pre-pandemic levels. This combination of strong migration, high homeownership among movers, and significant wealth gains makes Knoxville a market with strong potential in 2025.”

9. Phoenix, Arizona

Price appreciation history: 72.3%

Starter homes as share of inventory: 39.3%

Share of long-term homeowners: 42.5%

Net migration to population ratio: 0.7

Share of out-of-state purchasers: 35.8%

Job growth history: 11.9%

Commentary: "Phoenix has become a key destination for residents migrating from California, driven by its comparatively lower cost of living and housing affordability. This migration is further supported by Phoenix's strong job growth, which has expanded by 12% in the last five years. This combination of demographic shifts and economic expansion has established Phoenix as a prosperous and dynamic market."

10. San Antonio, Texas

Price appreciation history: 44.8%

Starter homes as share of inventory: 40.5%

Share of long-term homeowners: 48.5%

Net migration to population ratio: 1.3

Share of out-of-state purchasers: 39%

Job growth history: 10.7%

Commentary: "The Texas Triangle couldn't be left off this list. Borrowers in San Antonio were able to secure mortgage rates well below the national average in 2023, at 6.4%. This suggests that buyers in the area benefit from a combination of local market dynamics that lead lenders to assess lower risk in this area. Additionally, San Antonio has experienced one of the strongest rates of job creation since pre-pandemic levels, which continues to draw new residents to the area."

• A settlement earlier this year was expected to change the way Americans buy and sell homes.
• Some predicted more people would forego hiring traditional real-estate agents for their deals.
• Four people who sold or bought homes this year without a traditional broker shared how they did it.

A 2023 court ruling against the country's biggest association of real-estate agents was expected to transform how Americans buy and sell homes.

A jury found that the National Association of Realtors, or NAR, had colluded with large real-estate brokerages to keep its members' commissions high. A settlement earlier this year imposed new rules and requirements to prevent agents from unfairly siphoning more money from home sellers.

Real estate professionals have debated endlessly how the NAR settlement could affect the housing market. One prediction is that people might forego using an agent altogether; another is that homebuyers and sellers will bargain hard to pay brokers they do hire less in commissions.

The majority of Americans hire a traditional real-estate broker to facilitate their transactions. According to data from NAR itself, 86% of homebuyers in 2024 used an agent's services. A study by real-estate media company RISmedia found early indications of commissions falling, while Redfin found that commissions have remained almost unchanged since the new rules took effect in August.

Even if it's too early to see the full impact of the settlement, some insights can be gained from people who bought or sold homes without using traditional agents.

Four people told Business Insider that the NAR ruling didn't influence their decision not to hire a typical broker; rather, saving time and making the process more convenient were top priorities.

The sellers acknowledged that going to the open market represented by a classic sellers' agent could have fetched higher prices but added that they might need to pay the agent more or wait longer to close their deals.

"If I had time and I was really wanting to prioritize maximizing my profit, then I probably would utilize an agent to sell just because of the ability to get multiple offers and drive up that competition," said Chelsea Hutchison, who sold her home to a publicly traded real-estate tech company in April.

There are also other costs to transact on a home, including attorney fees.

Read on to hear from the four people who bought or sold homes this year via big companies or real-estate startups instead of a traditional agent. They break down what they paid in commission or fees, and what they felt the benefits were.

2 people sold their houses to a company that charges a lower commission

In April, Hutchison sold her house in Canby, Oregon, to property technology company Opendoor.

The publicly traded firm worth $1.5 billion that pays cash for homes and can close a deal in days, charging a 5% fee to the seller. That's a little less than the 5% to 6% sellers have paid traditional agents in the past, who then share the commission with the buyer's agent.

Hutchison said she did consider using a traditional agent and spoke with one who estimated she could sell her 2,000-square-foot, four-bedroom home for about $565,000.

She ultimately went with Opendoor, which offered her less money — $535,000 — for her home but more speed and convenience.

She was going through a divorce and relocating to a different state at the time, so flexibility was her top priority.

"It was very fast, but it could have been slower if I needed it," she said. "There was flexibility for choosing the closing date, which was really helpful to me."

She ended up paying $26,750 in service fees to Opendoor, rather than the $32,100 a typical seller's broker would have asked for to split with the buyer's broker.

Another seller, Melissa Gonzales-Szott, thought Opendoor offered a fair price for her 2,200-square-foot Las Vegas house: $448,500.

Gonzales-Szott, a 46-year-old who works in marketing, said she did her own research on the market value of her home and thought the amount was in line with what she had seen in her neighborhood.

Selling to Opendoor took 60 days, she added, compared to the six months it took the last time she sold a home.

"There were just so many factors that contributed to this being a more convenient type of process to go through," she told BI. "If there were going to be any type of losses financially for us, we were prepared — because who could put a price tag on convenience and on peace?"

Opendoor operates in more than 50 markets in 26 states.

A home seller had agents bid for his listing and picked one willing to take a lower commission

In June, real-estate agent and "Million Dollar Listing LA" star Josh Altman cofounded Redy, a marketplace where prospective home sellers post their properties and agents compete with each other for the opportunity to sell them.

Agents even give sellers a "cash bonus" after they are chosen by the seller.

According to Kenneth Bloom, who's already sold two properties with Redy, the savings are significant compared to using a traditional real-estate agent.

Bloom, 69, sold a three-bedroom rental property in Waterford, Michigan, for $245,000 and his late mother-in-law's 1,500-square-foot condo in West Bloomfield, Michigan, for $250,000.

Bloom, who said he's bought and sold at least a dozen properties in his life, said he used to look up real-estate agents in the area of the home and research their sales volumes. He would then contact the top candidates before hiring one.

He found that he preferred Redy because the agents reached out to him.

"I posted the house and a dozen Realtors responded," he told BI. "For me, it was really a time saver. It did all the research that I had to do, and they came to me versus me having to go and do it on my own."

Bloom said the commission was also lower than he had paid in the past. The agent he selected settled on a 4.5% commission, which was lower than the 6% He was used to paying as the seller.

The cash bonus the agent paid him — which Bloom said was $1,200 for the first house he sold and $1,040 for the second house — was also a large factor.

Bloom said he saved nearly $10,000 on broker commissions between the two transactions. Selling each home took less than a month, he added.

Redy, which has officially launched in markets including Atlanta, Dallas, Orlando, Phoenix, and San Diego, is continuing to expand to other parts of the country.

A California homebuyer paid a flat fee rather than a percent of the sales price

California-based real-estate investor Sergio Rodriguez used a new homebuying service to purchase a home from his neighbor.

Rodriguez, 38, and the seller wanted to keep their $600,000 transaction off-market, which means the property wouldn't be listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

The seller wanted to get as much money as possible for the home and get rid of it fast, Rodriguez said, while he wanted to save on commission costs, too.

They couldn't find an agent to help them complete the transaction because Rodriguez and his neighbor wanted to keep the commission under 4% of the total sale price, below the 6% standard.

"I even have family and friends who are Realtors, and they were like, 'Let me run it through my brokerage and see if they'll be willing to transact for you,' and they all said no," Rodriguez told BI. "It was really hard to find a Realtor to just simply transact on it. You can try to do it privately, but it's just too much paperwork."

To close the deal, Rodriguez turned to TurboHome, a homebuying service in California, Texas, and Washington. The company, which bills itself as a "real estate brokerage of the future," uses AI in addition to licensed agents. It pays its agents salaries, then has buyers pay a flat fee rather than a percent commission.

After TurboHome got involved, Rodriguez said, he and his neighbor were in contract in 24 hours.

Rodriguez said he ended up paying TurboHome about $1,000 in fees. (The company said the standard flat fee ranges from $5,000 to $10,000.)

He estimated he saved about $40,000 compared to using a traditional agent.

"That's a lot of money when you're buying a $600,000 house," he said.