single Women Face Higher Mortgage Denial Rates Despite Homeownership Lead – NMP
Despite owning more homes than men, single women are nearly 30% more likely to be denied a mortgage, according to new research from LendingTree.The study, released in 2024, reveals a critically important disparity in mortgage approval rates between single male and female applicants.
Data shows single female applicants experienced a denial rate of 15.7%, compared to 12.1% for single men. This represents a 29.8% difference in rejection rates. The study also indicates fewer single women are even applying for mortgages; sole female applicants comprised 21.9% of potential homebuyers in 2024, while sole male applicants accounted for 32.8% – a ratio of 1.5 male applicants for every female applicant.
LendingTree’s chief consumer finance analyst, Matt Schulz, attributes thes differences largely to income. While income doesn’t directly impact credit scores, it significantly affects a borrower’s ability to save for a down payment, manage their debt-to-income (DTI) ratio, and comfortably commit to a long-term mortgage.
Schulz also acknowledges that sexism and gender-based discrimination haven’t been eradicated, but emphasizes that insufficient income often presents the biggest hurdle for applicants seeking favorable DTI ratios.
The data further reveals that single women originate conventional 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages for smaller amounts – averaging $299,134 versus $356,550 for single men – resulting in lower monthly payments, but with slightly better than average interest rates. Conversely, single men consistently originate larger mortgages and pay higher monthly amounts in every state.
Looking at loan types, men dominate GI loan originations, accounting for 81.6% of all such loans among sole applicants. While women hold the highest percentage of FHA mortgages at 44%, men still represent the majority at 56%.
In total, single women originated $173.3 billion in mortgage debt in 2024, compared to $328.7 billion for single men. This translates to 600,817 loans originated by women versus 949,477 by men.
The disparity in applications is also evident across age groups. Men comprised 71.2% of loan originations for those under 25, with the gap narrowing with age. Women only surpassed men in loan originations within the 65-to-74 and over-74 age brackets.
Geographically, the District of Columbia is the only jurisdiction where the percentage of sole female applicants exceeds that of sole males (32% versus 29.2%). Utah exhibits the largest gap,with over twice as many single men applying as single women (30.2% versus 13.4%).
Single women face higher denial rates in Louisiana (29.0% versus 18.1%), Mississippi (29.0% versus 19.8%), and Alabama (21.9% versus 14.8%). Men, however, are more likely to be rejected in Alaska, Hawaii, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, and D.C.
