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Owning real estate creates a number of income opportunities. You can rent out a portion of a property or its entirely for a stream of monthly cash. You can tap into a property’s value to take out a home equity loan to start a business or buy a second property. You can purchase homes low, renovate them and flip them for a profit. There’s a lot of power in owning property, which is why CNBC reports that 23 percent of Americans believe real estate is the best path to building wealth.
While the gender and racial pay gap is still very real, there is one wealth gap that is evolving in women’s favor. Lending Tree reports that single women own more property than single men. By the way, Black women have long been ahead of the game on this. In 1670, when no married woman could legally own property, Zipporah Potter Atkins, a single and free Black woman in Boston, purchased a home in the North End neighborhood, becoming the first Black woman to own property in the city. And in 1858, Harriet Tubman became the owner of a small house in upstate New York, where she provided care to those in need.
It’s always been a good idea to own real estate, and women across America are cashing in. Here are the states where single women are buying the most property and some things to know if you’re a single woman interested in buying property.
The top three states with the highest percentage of single women-owned homes are:
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- Louisiana. In Louisiana, 15.16 percent of homes are owned and occupied by single women. The typical value of a home in Louisiana is $186,795, according to Zillow, and property values have increased 2.3 percent over the past year here.
- Alabama. Just under 15 percent of homes are owned by single women in Alabama. Zillow states that the average home value in Alabama is $207,145. The Alabama real estate market is booming, and homes have gone up an average of eight percent over the last year.
- South Carolina. In South Carolina, 14.84 percent of homes are owned and occupied by single women. The average home value in South Carolina is $269,424, says another prosperous market, South Carolina homes have seen a nearly 13 percent value increase in the last year.
