Single Gen Z women are destroying their male counterparts when it comes to buying their first house | Fortune

Single Gen Z women account for 35% of homebuyers in their generation, while single Gen Z men account for 18%. Survey data cover home purchases from July 2024 to June 2025 and include generations from ages 18 to 26 through ages 80 to 100. No other generation shows a larger share of single women homebuyers than Gen Z. Across all generations during the same period, single women make up a quarter of all homebuyers, while single men account for 11%. The pattern has existed for decades, with single women peaking at 22% in 2006 and single men peaking at 12% in 2010. Higher college attendance and stronger motivation for independence are cited as contributing factors.

"They accounted for 35% of all homebuyers in their generation, while single Gen Z men represented 18%, according to survey data from the National Association of Realtors. NAR surveyed people who bought a home between July 2024 and June 2025. The survey included homebuyers from several generations, from Gen Z, ages 18-26, to the Silent Generation, ages 80 to 100."

"No other generation had a bigger share of single women homebuyers than Gen Z. The survey data are the latest sign that single women overall are becoming homeowners at greater rates than single men. Single women across the generations made up a quarter of all homebuyers in the July 2024-June 2025 period, according to NAR. Single men, meanwhile, accounted for 11% of all home purchases."

"This has been a longstanding trend going back at least to 1981. In 2006, at the height of the mid-2000s housing boom, the share of homes bought by single women peaked at 22%, according to NAR. For single men, their share of homeownership peaked at 12% in 2010."

"Experts say there is no one-size-fits-all answer to why across the generations single women outnumber single men as homeowners. Women now are outpacing men in college attendance, which can lead to higher incomes, said Jessica Lautz, NAR's deputy chief economist. They tend to have a strong desire for homeownership as a way to secure their independence, something they historically could not easily do alone."

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