How to go
What: Real Estate professionals on sight at the Dayton Women’s Fair, produced by Cox Media Group Ohio and presented by Dayton Area Toyota Dealers.
When: Fair runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Dayton Airport Expo Center, 3900 McCauley Drive, Vandalia
What: Fair highlights include shopping, cooking demonstrations, food and wine tasting, fashion shows, health screenings, financial advice and Zumba classes
Cost: $7 at the door or purchase tickets in advance for $5 at Kroger stores More information: Visit the website at www.daytonwomensfair.com or call (937) 225-7359.
Deborah Sasser remembers a time when husbands did the bulk of the decision-making when it came to finding a house and negotiating its purchase.
Not anymore, said Sasser, who has worked in the real estate and construction industries 30 years.
Both married and single women have come into their own when it comes to home buying, said Sasser, an associate partner at Coldwell Banker Heritage and president of the Dayton chapter of Women’s Council of Realtors.
“They do the research. They are much more involved,” Sasser said. “They are informed and they are good negotiators. They are strong home buyers.”
The shift has caused real estate companies to pay more attention to female buyers.
Coldwell Banker Heritage, Ryan Homes and Exit Realty Partners are among the industry businesses that will be represented at the Dayton Women’s Fair today and Sunday.
The fair is produced by Cox Media Group Ohio and presented by Dayton Area Toyota Dealers.
Debra White of Exit Realty Partners says single women are an important segment of the market.
No longer are women, particularly those with college degrees, simply renting apartments and waiting for “Mr. Right” to come along, she said.
Single women, including unmarried mothers, young unmarried, widows, divorcees and seniors are buying homes for themselves and investing in rental properties.
Women still make less on average than their male counterparts, but are less likely to finance their home, and that if they do, borrow less.
“They are marrying later. They are taking more responsibility for their futures,” White said, noting that home ownership has its advantages. “(Female homebuyers) are looking for tax benefits. They are looking for security. They are looking for nesting opportunities.”
Married couples account for half of home buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2010 Home Buyers and Sellers Survey.
Twenty percent are single women, 12 percent single men, 8 percent unmarried couples and a percent other, the survey revealed.
Single females are twice as likely to buy houses than their single male counterparts. They have been one out of five buyers since the late 1990s, according to NAR’s survey.
Walt Hibner, executive director at Home Builders Association of Dayton, said the impact on single female home owners is expected to increase as educated women in Generation Y invest in homes.
“They are going to make up almost half of the generation Y householders,” Hibner said of the group nicknamed WINKS (Women with Income and No Kids.) “The whole Generation Y is going to create a whole different dynamic.”
Generation Y, also called Echo Boomers, are the roughly 70 million Americans born 1977 to 2002. They follow Generation X, those born between 1965 to 1976. Hibner said WINKS are more interested in urban and walkable environments.
3 tips to home buying
Know your financial health: Check your credit score and fix problems.
Save money for the down payment: White said down payments are often as low as 3.5 percent.
Find an interest rate you can afford: Loan interest rates are now running about 4.5 percent, White said.
SOURCE: Debra White of Exit Realty Partners in Beavercreek
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2384 or arobinson@ DaytonDailyNews.com.
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