Single Women Driving Demand for Rental Market
Women are driving the demand for the rental market according to this CNBC article:
In fact, even as housing and the greater economy improve, a shift in demographic trends will likely favor the rental apartment market for the foreseeable future. It is all about women….
“What drives demand for single family homes is, ‘Oh honey, I’m pregnant,” says Buck Horne, a housing analyst at Raymond James.
But those words are being uttered less and less. Horne claims the shift in female education, marriage and fertility rates will drive rental apartment demand going forward. He points to a growing educational imbalance, that is, 3.1 million more women enrolled in college than men and 4 million more college-educated women in the workforce than men.
“That creates a structural imbalance in the number of suitable partners. Women leave college with good income prospects and are not finding suitable husbands and fathers,” says Horne.
Consequently, the millennial generation is delaying marriage and motherhood, and birth and fertility rates are dropping. The female fertility rate is at its lowest level in recorded U.S. history, according to the Centers for Disease Control/Raymond James research. 41 percent of children are born out of wedlock. Horne’s research finds single mothers prefer living closer in to cities and staying in full amenity apartment rentals. This all points to more structural, long-term demand for rental housing.
Though this article is concerned about the impact of renters on the long term structure on the housing market, my main concern is the impact of single women and mothers on the structure of our culture and government. Will they demand a “full amenity” government just as they do a full amenity apartment rental?
Of course they will, and both major parties will fall all over themselves to provide it in one way or another.
The GOP is the right wing of the female supremacism party.
Hookup culture is the new marriage. BDSM is the new vanilla.
Rock on.
Marriage and social stability go the way of the dinosaur and left/liberal types into the Cloward-Piven strategy rub their hands together and go “Excellent!”
“Will they demand a “full amenity” government just as they do a full amenity apartment rental?”
As a single mom who decided to rent an apartment close to town rather than buy a fixer upper after I left my abusive conservative ex, I can say that such comments are not helpful to those of us who are just trying to do the best we can.
Is that a no from you?
Yes, that’s a no.
Men with abusive spouses get thrown in jail.
Very true, TMG, in some cases. It happened to an old friend of mine whose wife is a special kind of evil. However, in my case, the abuse was directed at me and my kids, so I left.
Conservative in what way?
Conservative as in how he aligns politically, although he’s non-religious.
JMarie, glad you and yours are safe now.
Trey
You mean they don’t already? As far as I recall, a certain man-jawed liberal libertine demanded we bear the responsibility for her inability to be sexually responsible.
Does it double the housing problem if the majority of people no longer live in couple-family structures? How do two parents both get enough resources to provide a suitable environment for themselves and (shared) offspring?
Do we have to double the housing stock while cutting it’s price in half?
Women “not finding suitable husbands and fathers” now because more have college degrees than men do today… wait, I thought such things “didn’t matter.” Forget character and being manly, if he doesn’t have hold the same or higher degree as the woman than he doesn’t matter. Perhaps they should examine their standards?
Everything is all about women- always has been. It was all about women before ‘liberation’ and it is all about them now. Does their behavior improve? No. Do their decision making skills improve? No. Do they vote more sensibly? No. Do they stop acting silly in public? No. Are things going to get worse? Yes. Are men going to sit their and get blamed for their shenanigans? Yes. Is Dr. Helen going to disregard this comment and instead claim it is “bitter/angry/blah,blah,blah”? Probably. Whatever.
When do I disregard men’s comments as bitter and angry? This blog is a place for men to express their concerns about men’s issues so I am not sure where you are coming from here.
Gotta side with Dr Helen here. She’s consistently one of the most reasonable and sympathetic voices out there.
AlBout, have you been here before? I have not seen what you are worried about happen here and I have been hanging out for awhile.
Trey
The writing is on the wall. Why aren’t Western governments dealing responsibly with their massive debts? They can’t. The voters won’t let them. A large portion of them are dependent upon government largesse. Others want ‘insurance’. These would be disproportionately women.
On the day the inevitable collapse occurs, feminism will die.
“Will they demand a “full amenity” government just as they do a full amenity apartment rental?”
Hasn’t that pretty much already happened?
Since I am one of the few people here who actually sells real estate, I’ll give you my take.
Full amenities refers to things like an equipped kitchen, a washer/dryer, and in the case of a complex, a gate, a pool, maybe a gym.
Anyone on the rental market would want a place like that, but there aren’t very many available.
So I think this whole argument is rather circular.
The larger question is, why are single mothers looking for rentals? Because men won’t marry them and assume their debt. She cannot afford a mortgage, what with property taxes, utilities, maintenance, and all the responsiblilities which come with owning a home.
She was irresponsible when she got pregnant. Now her boyfriend, the presumed father–accent on presumed–doesn’t want to have anything to do with her. Neither does any rational man.
So now she’s alone with a kid in tow. Of course she wants an apartment with full amenities. Too bad there aren’t a lot of those on the market.
She’s the poster child for government assistance. And she votes Democrat, because the Democrats promise her all she needs. Except a husband, which is what she should have been looking for before she got knocked up. At least then she’d have guaranteed child support, maybe even a house to live in. But, no.
The modern American girl is worthless. It’s the fallacy of feminism. She wants special treatment and she wants to be in the front line of a combat zone. But she can’t have both, so she gets knocked up and wanders around looking for a rental that doesn’t exist. And the child suffers for it most of all.
It’s sad really.
Your discussion about full amenity apartment complexes reminds me of what I’ve read is happening at universities across the country. Instead of focusing on the core mission of education, universities are turning themselves into 4 (or more) year resorts with every sort of amenity (climbing walls, fitness centers, sushi bars, etc.). This is one of the contributing factors to the escalation of college costs which have risen at more than twice the rate of health care costs for a long time. People get used to having all the goodies, so when they go out into the real world, they think they should still have it all. I’ve seen for a long time that many young people want to start out with the same standard of living that it took their parents decades to achieve.
There may be another factor driving people to the rental market and that’s the difficulty in getting a mortgage. After the excesses of the last decade, things have swung far in the other direction. My wife and I have owned homes for over 25 years. We never missed a payment and paid off the mortgages in full for two homes. When we had to move for employment reasons last year, we decided to build a new home. Despite having 800 credit scores, being 100% debt free and a low 6-figure income, it took months and countless pieces of paperwork to get a mortgage. I have a high security clearance that was renewed last year. Getting that clearance renewed didn’t require 1/10th the paperwork as the mortgage did. As it was, we closed a day late and didn’t know until an hour before closing whether we’d get to close that day or not. If we had so much trouble getting a mortgage (and we’ve talked to others who experience similar problems), then how difficult would it be for a single person?
Well, you’re right about that. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get a mortgage for just about anyone. Proof of financing or proof of chash is required to present an offer, and thus for a showing. Sorry, but I’m not about to waste time, money and gas driving around opening doors for someone who can’t buy a house.
It gets even worse at closing, which usually take about six weeks. Once the contract is in the title company, there is nothing I can do to affect the outcome. I’ve had deals where the bank withdrew funding on the day of closing. That’s ridiculous. The bank qualified the buyer for a loan, the buyer made an offer that was accepted, and on the day of closing the bank denies the funds? Now, all the work that everyone involved did is wasted.
Look, I’ve been doing this for 11 years now. I had to resign from teaching to help my mother run the company after my father died of cancer. In that time, I’ve been in probably 2,000 homes. I’ve sold some duplexes, some fourplexes, even an apartment complex, to investors not renters.
For a rental, about the best you’re going to get is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, with an open living area, a small dining area, an equipped kitchen, and a utility room in the hall, a wood fence around the patio, and two parkings spaces in the carport.
That’s hardly what the people are thinking when they say “full amenities.” If you want a gated complex with a pool and/or a gym, there really are not many on the market, and those that are are very expensive. How a single woman with a child can afford one of those is inexplicable, but that’s what she thinks she’s entitled to. She’s not going to get it, of course, but that’s what she thinks.
And don’t think for a second that the economy and the real estate market are improving. They’re not. Two years ago my mother and I listed and sold 120 properties. Last year our listings and sales, and so too our income, were down 40%. That’s a hell of a hit. And it’s effecting everyone.
People are seeing the market value of their homes decline, and their equity vanish with it. It takes longer and longer to sell a home, and investment properties, like apartments, are a debt trap. The last thing in the world you want to be is a landlord at this point. All the rent laws favor the renter, and eviction is a real pain in the ass.
Anyway, more to the point. Back when I was teaching, I didn’t assign topics for papers. I told my students to write about what interests them. And every semester I would get several papers from single mothers–this in freshman English, you understand–and they would say, “I just want a man to love me and take care of my baby.” That’s the modern American girl in a nutshell right there.
She wants a husband she’s not going to get after the fact she got knocked up by some boy in a bar. She wants an apartment with full amenities that doesn’t exist and that she couldn’t afford even if it did. She wants everything and gets nothing. And her illigimate child suffers for it.
Welcome to 21st century America.
*illegitimate
For a rental, about the best you’re going to get is a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, with an open living area, a small dining area, an equipped kitchen, and a utility room in the hall, a wood fence around the patio, and two parkings spaces in the carport.
That’s hardly what the people are thinking when they say “full amenities.” If you want a gated complex with a pool and/or a gym, there really are not many on the market, and those that are are very expensive. How a single woman with a child can afford one of those is inexplicable, but that’s what she thinks she’s entitled to. She’s not going to get it, of course, but that’s what she thinks.
When we moved here, we took out a 6 month lease on a 2 BR, 2 BA apartment in a gated community. Our apartment was on the second floor so no fence but we did have a pool and fitness center. The rent was roughly $1000 a month. People with longer leases had lower rents. I don’t know how representative our apartment was we only had 2 weeks to move so that was the best I could find over the Internet on such short notice. Most places wanted a longer lease but we knew we weren’t going to be there that long. As it was, our house was finished a month before our lease ended yesterday.
Home ownership involves a lot of work and a lot of money. Some people don’t want to do the work and don’t have the money. I imagine a lot of single women fall into that category. In our former town, we owned a small 3 BR house that we rented out for several years. One of our tenants was a single woman. We sold the house to a single woman in 2010 and hope she’s enjoying the place. It’s relatively new (2003) and is relatively low maintenance (small yard, vinyl siding).
I could’ve afforded a small house when I moved recently but chose to rent instead because I feared the value of the house wouldn’t increase in step with money I’d have to spend on maintenance and repairs. So many in my town are underwater with their mortgages I felt it was better for me to rent.
Different states and different markets have different laws and properties.
I suppose there are some areas of the country that have apartments with full amenities, but if you want a gated comples, with a pool and gym, you’re going to pay for it. $1000/month for rent alone doesn’t included utilities. It also doesn’t include living expenses, you know such things as food, gas, and car payments. Pretty soon you’re up to over $2000/month, and that’s just to break even.
There are not very many single mothers who can afford that kind of lifestyle, and that’s just the truth of it. Even if there were, there are not very many properties like that on the market.
So, you either accept reality or you don’t. As an investor or a developer, I would be hard pressed to put hundreds of thousands of dollars into a property that very few people could rent. Talk about wasting money.
Hmm… Around here, things like kitchen, W/D, pool and gym are pretty standard from mid-market up. When I hear “full amenities”, I think of a resort complex with concierge, personal trainers, restaurant and bar, day care, etc.
Wow! My apartment lease doesn’t even include garbage pick-up. I drive to the dump twice a week and save about $350 a year doing so.
“When do I disregard men’s comments as bitter and angry? This blog is a place for men to express their concerns about men’s issues so I am not sure where you are coming from here.”
Perhaps I was making a hasty judgment. Usually such comments are always dismissed in that fashion. But they reflect reality.
You are correct that men’s concerns are often dismissed in the greater society. They are not here. I do think things are changing, however as I see more men fighting back against the status quo and speaking up in forums, magazines and politically. It’s important to keep speaking out regardless of what others think. But some of us are on your side, try to remember that.
Thank you.
OK. You’re the doctor after all, haha.
If you took a little time and read the comments on many of Dr. Helen’s posts, you’ll see many from men who do come across as bitter and angry. Reading the same names from post to post, you’ll hear them talk about losing their families to divorce and the misandry in society. They have every right to their opinions and their anger. In many forums, those men’s opinions would be dismissed but in several years of reading her work, I don’t recall a single time when Dr. Helen has dismissed them. It’s quite refreshing and educational as we get to hear from people who would otherwise be silenced. I’ve learned a lot from her articles and perhaps even more from the comments over the years.
The general rule in the American Feminazi Police State is that when women complain about men’s behavior, men are supposed to sit quietly and validate women’s feelings. When men complain about women’s feelings. Women are not only not required to validate men’s feelings, they are supposed to actively try to stigmatize and demonize the complaining men. Feminism as typically implemented is an intellectual construct allowing women to be manipulative, hypocritical and downright vicious, while still thinking of themselves as “good” people. This BS about equality is just that, BS. Unfortunately, the vast majority of American women, even the conservative ones, are “feminists”
But not all women. I recently met a female biology graduate student from India, studying in the U.S. She said that on the last day of her ethology class, the (male, Indian) professor applied everything they’d learned during the semester to humans. Apparently, he was pretty brutal. Biologists in general tend to be pretty cynical, almost as cynical as economists, and this professor was apparently worse than most.
Robert Wright once wrote something to effect that the world would be a much pleasanter place if people were as ruthlessly cynical of their own motives and behavior as they are of their enemies’.
The scenario that single women are going to drive the rental housing market is about to get a huge monkey wrench jamming it: very soon nobody is going to want to rent to women.
Here’s why. Massachusetts just passed a law, signed by the governor, that allows a woman to break a rental lease if she is the victim of “domestic violence” (DV). Already many of us have seen evidence of an entitlement mentality among many women that results in their expecting to be able to break contracts on a whim, often by claiming “they didn’t understand what they were signing”, “the contract is unfair”, and the like. Judges routinely throw out prenups over just such grounds. Really, this mentality usually boils down to, “I changed my mind, so why should I have to comply with this now?”
Now one state has codified this entitlement with leases, as it’s only a matter of time before (1) other states adopt similar laws, and then (2) many cupcakes decide to falsely claim they are DV victims—that is, with the sole purpose of getting out of their leases. Once this happens enough times, landlords ain’t a-gonna be willin’ to lease an apartment to a woman knowing that she can break it on a whim with the DV card.
So any notion that women are going to make things happen long-term in rental housing is utterly delusional. Property owners aren’t stupid. As such laws become widespread and more women claim DV to weasel out of leases, landlords will refuse to rent to women and will find ways around any antidiscrimination laws to be able to do so.
Wow. I had not heard of this one. It’s almost like we’re going back to the days when courts would not hold women to a contract because they reasoned that women did not have the mental capacity to understand the concept of a contract. Same reasoning for why children can’t be held to a contract. Hey post-modern feminists, how is this working out for you?
I’ve been selling real estate for a little over 11 years now. I resigned from teaching while my father was dying of cancer so I could help my mother, because she owns the company. Together, we sell a lot of properties.
I’ve sold residential homes, ranch homes, commercial buildings, duplexes, fourplexes, and apartment complexes. Over the years, I’ve been in several thousand properties. This county is larger than some states. And believe me, I have seen it all, everything from thousand dollar shacks to million dollar mansions.
I sold a house to a single woman a couple of years ago. It was a relatively nice home, a 3/2 stucco house with a chain link fence and a driveway, no garage. It didn’t have amenities, just a stove. She lost it to foreclosure six months later.
Back in 06, this friend of mine and I would take these bus tours to Dallas to watch Cowboys games. He’s one of our contractors, and he runs a janitorial service that cleans office buildings after hours. His wife is a nurse. I sold them their first house, a small 2/1 brick home on the east side of town.
When we were on the bus, it’s about a 13 hour ride, he said he wanted to buy a new home. I told him, now is not the time. Save your money and wait. You should put down 20% on a 15-year note. He’s the only one who has ever listened to my advice on real estate.
A couple of years later, we got this repo and I sent him over there to give me a bid on the repairs. He came back and said he wanted to buy it. I was like, dude, that’s an expensive house. He wanted to make an offer. Okay, how much do you want to put down? 20%. That would be like $30,000. Yeah, I got that. You saved $30,000 in two years? This is a janitor, mind you.
He bought it, got a hell of a deal. Today, he’s living in a 2-story 4/3 brick home with a 2-car garage in a gated community on a golf course with pool privileges and a gym. Now, that’s what I call amenities. How much did he pay for it? $150,000. He fixed it up himself, and now he’s living pretty. His wife and daughter are perfectly happy.
That’s the difference. A single woman and a do-it-all family man. Anyone who thinks the former is going to drive the real estate market is a fool.
I don’t do rentals. I have sold rental properties to investors. In other areas, it may be different. But here a 2/2 with an equipped kitchen and a washer/dryer closet, a wood fenced patio, and 2 spaces in the carport is about the best you’re going to get.
As a rental, that’s a good deal. As an investment, it’s really not. If the renter doesn’t pay the rent, it will take months to evict her. And the whole time you’re responsible for taxes and maintenance. If the renter trashes the property before leaving, you’re resonsible for repairing the damages. It is your property after all.
Everytime someone asks for my advice and opinion on real estate, I tell them the same thing. You buy a house to live in it. And older house in a good neighborhood with good shools is gold, because you can sell a house like that at any time. If you want to make money in real estate, buy land on the outskirts of developing towns, wait for the development, and when it’s worth 10X what you paid for it, sell. That’s how the rich do it. Flipping houses is for fools.
As are rental properties. The last thing you want to be is a landlord.
Look, if you want to flip properties, you need a team of contractors, electricians, plumbers, and realtors to make it work.
If you want to own rental property, you have to know that all of the laws favor the renter. He or she could not pay the rent, trash your property, and leave you with a mess to clean up, and a whole lot of money lost.
This whole thing about single women driving the real estate market is a joke. It’s just the modern narrative that single women are the driving force in everything. Please, spare me.
I work in real estate, my family owns the company. I know more about real estate than any of you will ever learn. My mother has been in real estate since 1972, and don’t think she hasn’t put me to work since then.
Single women driving the real estate market, demanding full amenities? Please. There are not that many properties on the market, and those that are are very expensive. Oh, yeah, she my rent an apartment, or buy a house, but odds are she’ll be evicted in short time.
The real estate market belongs to do-it-yourself men, who save their money. Period.
Nice to hear the skinny from someone who knows what is what. Thanks for the input GG.
Trey
Interesting quote from this “Buck Horne” guy:
“That creates a structural imbalance in the number of suitable partners. Women
leave college with good income prospects and are not finding suitable husbands
and fathers,” says Horne.
I would write it somewhat differently, which is why I don’t work in the media anywhere.
“Women are leaving college with debt burdens they are unable to find jobs that pay well enough to service. They are not finding men who make decent wages with no debt who are willing to take on their indebtedness.”
Same result, different vector
I was thinking something similar the other day as I was reading an article about why young couples were putting off having children. Throughout the article they were making the case that student loan debt was causing these couples to wait on building a family. Then towards the end of the article they had to throw in a bit about how women are earning more college degrees leading to greater success… Are they really gaining more success or just more unsustainable debt burdens? If college is making them so successful then why the need to put off childbearing? How often do you hear a Women’s study major complain about being $150,000 in debt and can’t afford to pay it? If these women are so successful, then why can’t they manage to pay off their student loan debt? If they are so intelligent, then why did they not understand the costs and benefits of attaining their degree of choice? There is more to this story than the media tends to parrot.
I am a landlord. I own three units that I have to maintain myself, because hiring bonded professionals costs more than the properties generate.
Single women have been my worst tenants. Oh, I screen, but they tend to move in on a savings account and a job with a company that goes bankrupt or RIFS them within six months, and then try to make it waiting tables. After another four months, the rent starts getting later and later. Then it stops coming at all, and I start writing grumpy letters. I can usually squeeze another two months rent out of them over the next six months, and then they sneak out in the dead of the night, owing me between three and eight months rent.
I’ve been fortunate in that none of them have really trashed the place.
The single guys? They leave the kitchen greasy and the carpets in need of cleaning.
My best tenants are couples. It doesn’t seem to matter if they are married or not.
Ha ha, that sounds about par for the course.
I used to manage a commercial building across the square from the courthouse. My mother gave me that job because she was tired of dealing with it.
The second floor was vacant and in despearate need of rennovation. Those offices were unrentable.
The first floor offices were rented by lawyers who seldom paid their rent. It was a real pain in the ass.
Finally, this guy, a lawyer, came up and said he wanted to buy it. Okay. He got an inspection and had a contractor give him a bid for the repairs. He made an offer, $250,000.
Now it gets tricky. The owner, a Harvard CPA living in San Francisco, thinks the building is worth more than that. (All owners think their property is worth more than it really is.) I told him, look, you’ve had this building on the market for over 20 years. In all that time you’ve gotten one offer, which was withdrawn after the inspection. The second floor needs at least $40,000 in repairs. The first floor floods every year. You paid $10,000 in flood damage last year. You can’t get flood insurance because you’ve filed too many claims. The renters don’t pay rent. You’re losing money every month, and more every year. Do you want to wait another 20 years? Take the offer.
He said, send me the paper work. I sold it. About a month later, the buyer came to the office, complaining. “You sold me a money pit!” Yeah, I did. You wanted to buy it. It’s not my job to protect you from bad investments. You were given full disclosure. You had an inspection. You made an offer, and it was accepted. Now it’s your problem.
Then, a bunch of the lawyers from that building called me to complain. The new owner not only increased their rent, but he cancelled the janitorial service and demanded that they pay for electricity. Sorry, I’m not the manager of that building anymore. If you have a problem, take it up with your landlord.
When I was the manager, there was one single female tenant, a young lawyer. She went to Notre Dame, then came back home and rented an office across the hall from her father, also a lawyer.
We got a repo down the street from where she grew up, and she wanted to make an offer. It was a good house, nice neighborhood, but it needed some work. Okay, make an offer. She came in about $40,000 below the eventual sales price.
I told her, you’re offer has been rejected. “I want it in writing.” You’re not going to get it. I’m telling you, you’re offer has been rejected. “I want to speak to the asset manager.” Um, the asset manager is in another state, and the seller does not correspond with a buyer except through the listing broker. And off she went, making her argument. I mean, that’s what lawyers do, argue.
So, she went to another realtor and came back with the same low offer. It was rejected as well. She threw a fit. The house sold a few weeks later at market value, $120,000, which was exactly as I had told her, $40,000 more than her offer.
I know a lot of female realtors. Some of them are very successful. But as far as female buyers or renters go, especially the single ones, I wouldn’t waste my time with them.
I represent the seller. I don’t do finance or give advice and opinions on real estate to anyone who is not my client. You want to buy a house? Provide proof of financing or proof of cash. I’m not about to waste time, money and gas driving around opening doors for someone who cannot even make an offer.
You want my advice and opinion on real estate? Come to the office, bring proof of financing or proof of cash, and sign a buyer’s representation contract. I will find the property your looking for, in your price range. I cannot represent you for a deal on any property our company has listed; that would be a conflict of interest. Legally, I cannot say that the seller will accept less than the list price. That’s the way it is.
If I were your agent, I would do some research, look at some comps, and give you a reasonable estimation of what the property you’re interested in will sell for. That’s all I can do. Then you can decide to make an offer or not. And it will either be accepted or not. And then we can proceed to closing, which is a whole nother problem.
But this nonsense about single women, especially single mothers, driving the real estate market is just that, nonsense. Single women do not buy homes. They may rent an apartment, but they certainly can’t afford one with full amenities, if there were any properties like that on the market.
GG, occasionally I’ll see a profile on OKCupid by a female lawyer or exec which mentions that she has her own home, is financially independent, etc. Might they not be in the same class as single men who do the same?
Lesson? Invest in rental property.
I’m serious.
No reason not to benefit financially from the slow collapse of the western world.