Houston Chronicle Sunday

Make your next move to a home that reflects your sense of style.

- By Crissinda Ponder

Single women are outpacing single men in the home-buying arena, according to a new report from the National Associatio­n of Realtors.

While millennial­s seemed to take the spotlight in the NAR’s latest “Home Buyer and Seller Generation­al Trends” study, single women are making their own waves.

They made up 15 percent of home buyers in 2015; single men accounted for 9 percent of purchases. Married couples constitute­d the biggest chunk of buyers last year: 67 percent.

“It seems that many women have the stability and desire to own their own homes as they are not getting married straight out of high school or college as much,” said Pava Leyrer, chief operating officer for Northern Mortgage Services in Grandville, Michigan.

The gap between the shares of single female and male buyers is widest among those ages 51-60 (20 percent versus 10 percent) and those ages 61-69 (19 percent versus 9 percent).

“Many in the older group may have lost spouses and are now downsizing or moving to more maintenanc­e-free homes,” Leyrer said, adding that she hasn’t seen many older single men buying homes. “Women seem to be more confident and ready to purchase or explore the possibilit­ies.” House found

Shawn Steen, 44, had been a renter until she became a first-time homeowner in July 2015.

The Madison, Wisconsin, resident met with a mortgage lender after her landlord sold the flat she had been renting for several years. She worked with the lender to assess her financial situation and to determine how much house she could afford for roughly the same amount she was paying in rent: $1,000. She had to do a little digging and some compro- mising, but eventually luck found her.

“It was a tiny little house and when I walked in, I got butterflie­s in my tummy and I knew that was my house,” she said. “And it didn’t matter if it wasn’t in the right neighborho­od. I loved that house the moment I walked into the kitchen.”

The final triumph was getting money back on closing day, because she received a grant that covered a larger portion of her closing costs than she was expecting.

Almost a third of buyers (30 percent) said their main motivation was the desire to own a home of their own. The second-most cited reason in the survey was a desire for a larger home. That was the primary reason for 10 percent of surveyed home buyers.

“We have seen an increase in moving up to larger homes, mostly within the same type of neighborho­ods or better school districts” as children grow and families get larger, Leyrer said.

People in her market have also been motivated by a desire to move into newly built homes.

According to the NAR survey, 2 percent of buyers gave this reason for buying in 2015.

Most first-time buyers are compelled to own due to a life event, such as get- ting married or starting a family, said Julie Reynolds, spokeswoma­n for loanDepot, a lender in Foothill Ranch, California.

Those who already own often have other motivation­s for getting a new home loan.

“Current or repeat home buyers also re-enter the market when they are downsizing, interested in a second or vacation home or expanding their family. Downsizing can be a result of children going off to college, retirement or a reduction in income,” Reynolds said. Preparatio­n is key

Once you’re at a point when you’re ready to buy, it helps to be prepared. This makes your offer more attractive and your closing run more smoothly, Leyrer said.

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