Loan software provider Ellie Mae just put out its latest “Millennial tracker” and found several similarities in homebuying across gender lines in this generation — with one big difference.
“While men make up the larger percentage of overall Millennial borrowers, most of them are married,” said Joe Tyrrell, executive vice president of corporate strategy at Ellie Mae. “An interesting trend we’ve been tracking all year is that single women are buying homes much more than single men. 60% of women who were listed as the primary borrower in October were single, compared to 42% of men.”
So market your mortgage products accordingly, everyone.
Other differences, while smaller, are still notable.
Millennial men who were listed as the primary borrower for a home loan were approved for an average of $197,820 in October. This was $11,253 more than Millennial women, who were approved for an average loan amount of $186,567.
Women typically closed their mortgages a day or two faster, but also applied with lower FICO scores.
The average FICO score for a woman purchasing a home was 721, compared to 726 for men. Women who refinanced had an average FICO score of 730, compared to men whose average FICO score was 735.
Ellie Mae provides on-demand software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry. The company defines Millennials as Americans born in the 80s and 90s.
