Houses bought by single women in NJ gain more value than men’s

Single women in New Jersey are bucking the national trend by showing that their real estate investments are paying off better than most home purchases by single men.

In a new report from housing data group RealtyTrac, the Garden State fails to follow the national men-over-women real estate gender gap.

According to the report, which looked at more than 2.1 million single-family homes owned by either single men or single women nationwide, homes owned by single men have appreciated $10,112, or 16 percent, more since purchase when compared to homes owned by single women.

Blomquist said the report's home value figures point directly to a wage gap between males and females, giving women less purchasing power.

According to a September 2015 update from the American Association of University Women, median earnings for men in New Jersey are 20 percent greater than those of women, compared to a 21 percent gap nationwide.

Nationally, single women also tended to own homes in higher crime neighborhoods

But in New Jersey, appreciation gained by women outweighed that by men.

"From a dollar-figure standpoint, we're showing that single women homeowners have gained over $38,000 in their homes since they purchased it, whereas single men homeowners have earned just shy of $30,000," said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president for RealtyTrac. "That is a 29 percent difference."

In Monmouth County, for example, single men saw their homes grow in value by 4.91 percent over time, compared to a 10.48 percent jump for single women.

Home appreciation favored men in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Mercer, Ocean, Passaic and Union counties, but the state overall still posts numbers that are a far cry from those of West Virginia, Wisconsin and Alabama, where average home value gains were at least 40 percent higher for men.

There were no numbers on record for Sussex County.

In the category of current market value, the report showed homes owned by single men are valued, on average, 10 percent more nationwide.

In New Jersey, that gap is cut in half.