Why Female Homeownership Keeps Rising in Central Florida

Single women bought 21% of the homes sold in the United States between July 2024 and June 2025. Single men bought 9%. That makes single women the second-largest buyer group in the country after married couples, and the gap between the two single groups has widened, not narrowed (NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, via Virginia Realtors).

Florida sits at the center of this shift. Five of the ten U.S. metros with the highest female homeownership rates are in this state, led by The Villages at 88.4% and Punta Gorda at 83.3% (NAR Economists' Outlook, March 2025). For buyers and sellers in Orlando and on the Space Coast, that trend changes who is walking through your open house.

What the national numbers say

More than 20 million single women own homes in the United States, compared with about 14 million single men, and single women out-own single men in 57% of U.S. metro areas (Florida Realtors, April 2026). The national female homeownership rate reached 63.0% in 2023, up from 61.1% in 2005, and the gap between single women and single men narrowed from 7.6 points to 4.3 points over the same period (NAR).

The buyer survey tells the same story from the transaction side. Married couples made up 61% of buyers in the 2025 profile, single women 21%, single men 9% and unmarried couples 6%. First-time buyers fell to 21% of the market, a survey low, with a record median age of 40 (NAR 2025 Profile). Single women are buying in a hard market, and they are still buying.

Why Florida leads

The metros where women own at the highest rates are the ones where home prices line up with local incomes and where retirees and empty nesters settle. NAR Senior Economist Nadia Evangelou attributes Florida's gains to prices that are more aligned with local incomes than in the coastal markets women are leaving, and she names Palm Bay among the areas with the fastest gains for single women (Florida Realtors).

Source: NAR Economists' Outlook, 2023 data published March 2025. Eight of the ten highest single-women ownership metros are in Florida.

Sebastian-Vero Beach and Port St. Lucie sit directly south of Brevard County on the same coastline. The pattern is clear: affordable coastal Florida draws women buying on one income.

The income gap, and how women are buying anyway

Women are achieving this with less money. In 2023 the median income of female homeowners was $76,695 against $90,088 for male homeowners, and for single owners the gap was wider: $41,240 for single women versus $54,523 for single men (NAR).

That gap shapes how single women buy. They tend to buy older, more modest homes, hold them longer and prioritize monthly cost over square footage. The 2025 buyer profile shows first-time buyers putting a median 10% down, financing 92% of purchases and using FHA loans 28% of the time (NAR 2025 Profile). With the 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% in mid-October 2026 (Freddie Mac), the payment, the insurance premium and the HOA fee decide the purchase as much as the price does.

Key point: Single women are the second-largest buyer group in the country and are buying on one income. Homes that are priced right, insurable and low-maintenance win this buyer.

What this means in Orlando and on the Space Coast

Our two markets offer different entry points. In Orlando, the median single-family home sold for $436,456 in August 2026 and the median condo or townhome for $301,071, with 12,144 homes on the market and a 4.9-month supply (Orlando Regional Realtor Association). Brevard County is less expensive and tighter: single-family homes had a median price of $380,000 and a 3.5-month supply in July 2026, while condos and townhomes had a median of $299,000 (Space Coast Association of Realtors).

Brevard's homeownership rate is 76.7% against 56.8% in Orange County, and its median household income is $78,476 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts). Those figures explain why single buyers on one income look hard at Melbourne, Palm Bay, Rockledge and Titusville, where a townhome or a 1980s concrete-block ranch pencils out at today's rates. In Orlando, the same buyer is often choosing between a condo near downtown and a house in Casselberry, Oviedo or Kissimmee.

What single women buyers should look at

The buyers we work with who do this well treat the purchase as a monthly-cost decision first. Before you fall for a house, run the full number: principal and interest, taxes, insurance, HOA or condo fees, and a maintenance reserve.

• Get a homeowners insurance quote before you write the offer, since roof age and distance to the coast drive Florida premiums more than price does.
• For a condo, read the association's reserve study and budget. Florida's 2024 and 2025 condo reforms require structural reserves, and underfunded buildings carry assessment risk. See Florida condo rules: what owners and buyers need to know.
• Favor homes with newer roofs, impact windows and updated electrical, which lower insurance and repair exposure.
• Treat the commute as a cost. Mean travel time to work is 25.4 minutes in Brevard and 28.0 minutes in Orange County (U.S. Census Bureau).
• Ask about financing early. Don Harkins Mortgage can show you what FHA, conventional and down payment assistance options look like on one income.

Our buyers page covers how we structure a search around these numbers.

What sellers should take from this

If you are listing a two- or three-bedroom home under the area median, there is a strong chance your buyer is a single woman. Market to her priorities: security features, a roof and HVAC with documented age, utility costs, walkability and low upkeep. Homes that answer those questions before they are asked sell faster, and in both of our markets a home that needs nothing sells first. Our sellers page explains how we prepare a listing for the buyers who are actually in the market.

Next step

If you are buying on one income, the first step is a clear monthly budget and a short list of neighborhoods where that budget buys a home you can insure and maintain. We build that list with you, run the real numbers on each property and connect you with financing before you start touring. The buyers who do this first are the ones who close.