Let Chelsea help you to achieve the newest trend - Girl Power Real Estate and Financial Independence - you can do it too!!!

Women taking over real estate

Single females buying homes early in life, getting married later

By Prashant Gopal

Stephanie Ghelman is buying a condo for the second time. She's 33.

Ghelman, who was a renter in her 20s, decided four years ago to build some equity and buy a studio condominium at Independence Harbor in Edgewater. Now, she's getting ready to close on a one-bedroom condo in the same complex and sell the studio.

Three of the five bidders on the studio are, like her, single women. And so are an ever-growing number of home buyers throughout the country.

"Women are much more independent than they've ever been as far as education and career," said Ghelman, who works in medical sales. "More and more women are getting married later because they are focusing on their careers. They are saving money and can afford to buy."

Last year, 21 percent of all U.S. homes were purchased by unmarried women, up from 10 percent in 1985, according to the National Association of Realtors. The association's figures include single-family houses, condos and town houses.

Only about 9 percent of homebuyers last year were single men, and some observers say that women are more likely to see home ownership as a path to financial security.

"Women are buying into the investment aspect of real estate," said Fort Lee Realtor Nelson Chen, who is Ghelman's agent. "Even if they're thinking of marrying soon, they're saying, 'Why not buy something rather than continuing to rent.'"

The trend is especially prominent in the condominium market, where properties are less expensive than single-family homes. Four in 10 condo buyers in 2005 were single women, according to the NAR. Many women find condos to be particularly attractive because they offer a maintenance-free lifestyle and security features such as gates and doormen.

Middle-school teacher Rebecca Samuels bought her first home last month, a condo in The Mill at Little Falls. Samuels, 25, who saved for a down payment by living with her parents, said she decided that real estate is a sound investment that doesn't have to wait for marriage.

Whoever I share my life with, I'll be able to set myself up for a better financial future," Samuels said.

Of course, many single buyers are well into their adult life. Some are divorced or widowed and are simply downsizing. Others never plan to get married.

Real estate agents are increasingly paying attention to women buyers, who, according to some observers, might have been treated with skepticism just a few decades ago if they approached a broker looking to buy a house.

Partly because so many women are now likely to have lengthy credit histories and solid incomes, they are also getting warm treatment from lenders.

Some builders have taken note of the trend, as well, and include features in their single-family homes that they say are especially appealing to women. Los Angeles-based KB Homes, for example, says features that appeal to women include large walk-in closets and spa-like bathrooms with whirlpool tubs.

What's not clear is why single men aren't buying at a similar pace.

"Our survey doesn't explain why," said Walter Molony, a NAR spokesman. "It gets down to being as simple as women have a better understanding of housing as a long-term investment. Single guys are more interested in consumption. They don't get serious about real estate until they meet the right woman."

Single Women Plunge Into Real Estate

No Longer Waiting For Husbands, Women Are Changing The Housing Market

NEW YORK, March 6, 2006

In a trend that is changing the landscape of the real estate market, single women are becoming homeowners at a rate never seen before.

It's a trend that is reversing the traditional pattern, in which women wait to get married before taking the plunge into the housing market.

Mariela Azcuy is 29 years old and single. Three months ago, she gave up her rented apartment in New York City and bought her very own one bedroom. She needed a five-year adjustable rate and 30-year fixed rate mortgage to afford it. But the financial burden doesn't scare her. She sees it as an accomplishment.

"It makes me think I made a smart financial decision and I'm on my way to making other smart financial decisions in my future," Azcuy said. "It's one of the most satisfying things I've ever done."

And Azcuy is in good company. Judith Lief is a realtor in New York City and says about 30 percent of her clients are single women, while few are single men.

"It's a ratio of about five to one, single women to single men looking (for homes)," she says.

The Early Show investigated the trend Monday morning, with the help of Vera Gibbons, special correspondent for Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.

She said that last year, 1.5 million homes were sold to single women.

"Nearly twice as many homes as were sold to single men," she told co-anchor Rene Syler. And there's "no sign of this trend slowing down," she says. "Fannie Mae is estimating by 2010 as many as 31 million single women will be homeowners. That accounts for 28 percent of all U.S. households."

As to why this has become a growing trend, Gibbons says there are a few factors at work. For one, single women appear to be more inclined to "nest" than single men. Another factor is the social change that comes from women gaining financial clout in the workforce.

"Women are much more independent today," Gibbons told Syler. "We are marrying later, that is, if we choose to marry at all. We are much less reliant on the man to be the provider because we have our own money, more money than ever because we are college educated. We are in the work force."

In addition to the financial benefits of owning a home, Gibbons also speaks of the personal satisfaction.

"For a single woman, in particular, it provides us with this huge sense of accomplishment, personal security, financial security, it's a big thing. But it's a good thing," she said.

Before taking the plunge, however, Gibbons says women should figure out if it makes financial sense.

"It's not right for everyone," she pointed out, particularly if you are only planning to be in the new home for a couple of years. "By the time you add up the closing costs, 3 to 6 percent of the purchase price, decorating costs, moving costs, it's going to take you a minimum of three years to recoup these costs.

"If you are thinking of long-term, you're going to stay in the place three, five, 10 years, if not longer, and you can make it all work, it may make perfect financial sense."

Also adding to the allure is that real estate developers, catching on to the trend of single women joining the market, are now building homes with this particular buyer in mind.

"Many single women find the transition from apartment to townhouse or condo ideal because you don't have to shovel the snow or mow the lawn," she said. "You've got the amenities single women like, like the gym, the pool, the game room. In fact, a lot of builders are building with the single woman in mind, adding on the extra security, the energy efficient appliances, the pretty courtyards."

Well ladies with all these facts for you what are you waiting for - get Chelsea to work for you today - it could change your life and your dreams will be a reality.