Now that we’re about to embark on the premier wedding season, it seems appropriate to share the following info, courtesy of the National Association of Realtors‘ economists. In examining the profile of the typical home buyer, they found some fairly significant changes during the past 10 years. In fact, The adult composition of home-buying households has changed dramatically since 2001. To wit:

  • In 2001, 68 percent of recent home buyers were married couples. In 2010, only 58 percent of home buyers were married couples.
  • The share of single buyers, both single females and single males, has risen. For single males, the share of buyers rose from 7 percent in 2001 to 12 percent in 2010. For single females, the share of buyers rose from 15 percent in 2001 to 20 percent in 2010.
  • Unmarried couples have remained fairly constant between 9 and 7 percent of recent home buyers—in 2010, 8 percent of home buyers were unmarried couples.