A lot has changed in the housing market since I entered the business in July 1983. I can speak more specifically to the real estate finance industry, as the bulk of my 25 years have been spent here. Had I not started out with a bank whose top leaders were the husband and wife team of Herbert and Marion Sandler, I wonder sometimes if I would have experienced many of the opportunities that came my way. Sure, bank dress codes even in the "liberal 80's" preferred women employees in skirts/dresses whose hemlines fell below their knees, business suits that were preferably in a nice dark shade of navy, black, gray or brown with a high-necked blouse and low-heeled pumps. But, World Savings encouraged and supported their women managers, while providing an open track to executive positions for qualified women, more so than any other bank I know of. And that was some feat for the day, as the banking and real estate world up until that time were not a traditional career choice for women.

Today, the scales have tipped to the other side, with women not only filling many of the real estate finance industry's positions, but also are becoming the driving force behind the decision making process when it comes to home buying, building, or remodeling. I find my client base of the past decade runs pretty parallel to the survey results published in Rachel Bogardus Drew's Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies titled "Buying For Themselves: An Analysis of Unmarried Female Home Buyers". This was published in June 2006, and contains statistics from 2000-2003, a time period that I believe is a more accurate representation of where our market is headed today... before the run-up of unsustainable housing purchases and complete loosening of traditional underwriting guidelines we've experienced the past several years. Roughly ¼ of housing purchases are by single women, including women who never married, or are divorced and widowed, with the statistics being drawn from survey results of 18 million home buyers. During the low interest rates/fast appreciation days of 2003-2007 when so many of my clients decided to take advantage of their equity growth to pull out cash to improve their homes, the vast majority of my primary contacts in these transactions were the woman of the household, a verification of the 91% figure given by the National Association of Home Builders in their recent promotion of a book written by a woman about marketing to women.

In 2002-2003, efforts began to be made to reduce the gap in homeownership rates of single women, and it appears that these efforts have had some success. My guess is statistics today would reflect some backsliding with incomes not having kept pace with rising real estate prices. But single women can - and do - purchase homes on their own in greater numbers, just as women today can be found working throughout the real estate sales, financing and construction industry.  

So, the typewriter I used to complete documents has been replaced by Web Docs prepared and drawn on the completer, scanners and e-mail delivery has replaced messengers, the Thomas Guide Maps are dusty in a drawer somewhere while the GPS guides the way, and you may find me wearing khaki capris and organic cotton on casual Fridays instead of polyester business suits with huge shoulder pads when I meet a single mom at the title company for her signing appointment. And, we'll both be a bit teary eyed when she receives the keys to her home at closing, anticipating the wonderful stability she is gaining for herself and her children that comes with homeownership.

See you at the closing table!

Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.com