In Which US Cities Are Single Women Buying the Most Homes?

San Francisco or New York? Forget about it! The Windy City is now a top city for single women to buy property, according to a study by the real estate agency Compass and mortgage lender Better.com. Chicago edged its way into the top three, beat out only by Los Angeles and Atlanta. Single women are dominating the housing market in Chicago, owning 312,997 homes compared to the 100,000 owned by single men. And even when women are married, they are increasingly choosing to list themselves as the primary source of income or securing a loan independently.

The news that more single women are buying homes comes as no surprise to Chicago real estate broker Julie Harron.

Over the course of her 27-year career, the Jameson Sotheby’s International Realty vice president of sales found that even when working with couples, women are often the driving force and decision-makers.

“I have worked with women who have lost spouses or are divorced," Harron said. “And I think younger women who know where they are in their careers and are financially stable are making concrete property decisions.”

A new study from real estate agency Compass and mortgage lender Better.com named Chicago one of the top cities for single women to buy property, due to the high percentage of women applying for loans through Better.com.

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