July 2011 RSS Feed

 For decades, the stereotypical Destin home buyer was a married couple in their mid-30s with 1 or 2 children. Condominium buyers were typically young, working couples with no children or empty-nesters tired of spending time and money on home maintenance. Most singles were assumed to prefer the cheaper, no-maintenance lifestyle of apartment living. Of course, the problem with stereotypes is that they are gross generalizations. Plenty of exceptions can always be found to the “rule.” There are singles who own Fort Walton Beach homes, couples with children who prefer Destin condo life, older couples who wouldn’t think of moving out of their family home, and empty-nesters who choose apartment living. But even so, until recently, single women were more apt…

Single women are becoming a major force in the Destin real estate market. In 2010, single women accounted for 20% of all home purchases nationwide, nearly twice as many as single men who purchased 12% of the homes sold last year. Real estate’s fastest-growing demographic, single women are expected to increase their prominence in the Gulf Coast real estate market in step with their increasing financial power. Changing demographic, social and financial trends in American society are at the heart of the power shift:

• Women have been steadily closing the salary gap. Nationwide, salaries for women have risen to 94% of male salaries; and in most major metropolitan markets, women are now out-earning their male colleagues.
• Women are better educated…