Tips and Traps for Single Home Buyers
Not surprisingly, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that nearly 30 percent of 2006 home sales were to single buyers. What’s interesting is that single females accounted for about 21 percent, compared to 9 percent for single men. Furthermore, more women (15.5 million) than men (11.8 million) live alone.
Among them, women were more likely than men to own their homes (56 percent versus 47 percent). This is undoubtedly because both men and women are choosing to pursue education, careers, and job opportunities and they have the income to buy.
Also, buying a home was considered a good financial move for singles until the credit meltdown starting in late 2006 made qualifying a lot more difficult. In light of the ongoing real estate recession and increasing unemployment numbers, it’s likely the number of singles buying homes will decline significantly until the economy picks up steam again.
Still, there’s good opportunity to buy homes for steep discounts and single buyers shouldn’t hesitate to stay in the market. Paying rent is still a deadend street in any economy. Buying a home as a single person is not much different from buying one as a couple: it boils down to one income qualifying for the mortgage versus two incomes which means you’ll likely have to buy a smaller home.
In fact, some couples have to go this route, too. It’s not that uncommon for either the husband or the wife to qualify individually for the mortgage because one has great credit and the other doesn’t.
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