More than ever before, it seems like Angelenos aren’t waiting to get married before buying homes. With current housing costs that feel like they might be on an upward trend with no end in sight, Millennials with the means are snapping up properties when and where they can, either as single people or unmarried partners.
Real estate website Zillow conducted a study of nationwide home ownership data and found that Los Angeles exceeds the national average for single home buyers aged 24 to 35. Here, 32.7 percent of the homeowners in that demographic are single people. That is more than eight points higher than the rest of the country. Among that group, in L.A. more young single women own their own homes than young single men.
Also on the rise are unmarried domestic partners investing in homes together. In the most recent data, 11.9 percent of Millennials went house hunting with a person they weren’t married to, who was generally, but not always, a romantic partner.
"Many singles looking to purchase a home on their own may not make enough money to afford or qualify for a mortgage on their dream home," Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell told L.A. Weekly about the findings. "That makes buying a home with a significant other even more appealing, even if marriage isn’t quite part of the picture."
And, after all, with as much as a wedding can cost in L.A., it might make more sense to put those funds toward buying into a cool, up-and-coming neighborhood before prices skyrocket.
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