Single women are buying more homes. Will that translate to boat sales?

Tomorrow is International Women’s Day, and so in honor of it I thought I would share some interesting data regarding home ownership and women.

The National Association of Realtors publishes an annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, and last year it reported that the quickening pace of home sales in the past year included a rebound among first-time buyers and single women.

In 2016, single females represented 17 percent of total home purchases, the highest rate since 2011 when they made up 18 percent of sales. The report states that despite having a much lower income than single males, women made up over double the amount of single male homebuyers, at 7 percent.

“Single women for years have indicated a strong desire to own a home of their own, as well as an inclination to live closer to friends and family, said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “With job growth holding steady and credit conditions becoming somewhat less stringent than in past years, the willingness and opportunity to buy is becoming more feasible for many single women.”

We know the typical trend is for adults to purchase a home, then a boat. So it would reason to think that if women are more and more active in home ownership, they are low-hanging fruit for boat purchases.

The question we have to ask ourselves is what are we doing to attract those women? Is our marketing allowing them to envision themselves taking their friends on a day cruise or enjoying a solo fishing trip? Are our businesses welcoming and inviting to women without assuming all they care about in the boat is the upholstery color and comfort? Do we engage solo women at the boat show?

This month, I would encourage you to find ways you can better market your business to women, whether it’s evoking nostalgia of boating excursions from their youth or offering introductory classes to boating that are comfortable for women. The data shows that these buyers are out there and ready to spend their dollars on that next phase in their lives.

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