More young Canadian women are buying houses or condos than men, according to a recent survey in the Royal LePage Female Buyers Report.
Single women are entering the homebuyers market in droves. Never- before married women are choosing to spend their hard-earned cash on a down payment rather than on a winter vacation. The survey shows that 30 per cent of single, unmarried women own their own home and 45 per cent of divorced, separated women are homeowners.
The surge has occurred over the past five years in cities across Canada. First-time buyers are favouring properties in the $200,000 to $400,000 range.
Yvonne Huh, a sales representative with Royal LePage Real Estate Service Ltd., said the numbers reflect that more women are focusing on careers and delaying marriage and having kids.
"Women are getting married later and later. It doesn't make sense for them to wait around for Mr. Right any more."
Out of the unmarried women who are not homeowners, 31 per cent say they will possibly buy a home within three years.
Huh said single women crave the stability of owning a home.
Young men, she said, no matter how much they earn, seem more inclined toward the freedom and flexibility of the renters market.
The nationwide phone survey of 1, 002 women was conducted Feb. 15 to Feb. 20 by Maritz Research, and had a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent.
(Copyright Montreal Gazette 2007)