Buying a house
Three single purchases landed in the Boston area.
“When I first saw it, it was like an instantaneous feeling,” says Sonia Bhabalia, pictured inside her Brighton apartment. Taylor Koster for The Boston Globe
Single women in Massachusetts buy significantly more homes than single men. According to a recent study of the loan market LendingTreeBay State women own just over 75,000 more properties than single men, putting Massachusetts as ninth in the United States for the widest gender gap in homeownership.
Although women win About 85 percent In terms of what men earn, the study also indicated that single women who live alone are more likely to own their homes than single men in 47 states.
Real estate agents say to keep track of their clients, although they note that the process for individual buyers can require a slightly different approach. When Realtor Kate Ziegler works with women who are buying on their own, some give her a list of questions: What if my life plan changes? What if I need to move for work? What if I meet someone?
“They want to know they’re not going to get stuck,” said Ziegler, who works with Arborview Realty in Jamaica Plain. “But they still feel like they really want to take that step, make the investment, get some equity, and not rely on just waiting for a partner.”
Her biggest piece of advice that’s different for male buyers and partners is to think of the purchase as an investment above all else — and try to avoid getting emotionally involved in the “what ifs.” Buying a home can provide “flexibility and options moving forward,” Ziegler said.
Here’s how three single female buyers in Boston made their decisions.
Own house in Brighton
Sonia Bhabalia
Age at purchase: 35
Budget: $430,000 – $475,000
Before Sonia Bhabalia bought her one-bedroom flat in Brighton, she lived in a flat in West Fenway, a short walk from work. Getting around was easy, she said, “but I didn’t have any natural light, I didn’t have any space…and the rent was like paying the mortgage.” “So why not follow the purchasing path?”
Bhabalia, who works in the non-profit sector, said buying alone didn’t stop her. She had been living on her own since 2015. “I had already paid for the house, so this was nothing new,” she said. Then, a friend of hers bought a place, demystifying her and starting the homebuying process for her.
Once she started house hunting, she had two non-negotiables: finding a place within walking distance of both a grocery store and a major T station or bus route. A unit in a 1920s building in one of Brighton’s historic areas caught her eye, and she checked both boxes. “When I first saw it, it was like an immediate feeling,” she said.
Bhabalia closed on the property in 2022 at the age of 35 with an interest rate of just over 5 percent. While her apartment’s proximity to Boston College might make it easier to rent eventually, Bhabalia doesn’t see that in her immediate future.
Bhabhalia reminds other buyers that being responsible for maintenance and repairs takes getting used to and the aesthetics can change. “I was focused on what my life would be like in this house,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be what it looks like or what other people will think.”
Watching lightning strike twice in Boston
Jennifer Roberts
Age at purchase: 34
Budget: less than $450,000
Home ownership has never been within Jennifer Roberts’ reach. During the pandemic, a colleague urged her to apply for an apartment lottery at the Port. Roberts was careful not to get her hopes up — “I can’t even win a scratch-off contest,” she admitted — so she was surprised when she was approved. Roberts described winning that lease as the first domino to fall. “Maybe I’ll just keep track of these things [city-run] Opportunities, she thought.
When a friend expressed interest in purchasing, Roberts volunteered to help her look for a place, as well as for city-sponsored housing programs that could make homeownership easier. Then I found a one bedroom unit in Brighton. It was income-constrained, which disqualified her friend from bidding. “I was like, ‘Oh, I think I’ll put my name in.’ And lightning struck twice,” Roberts said. Her offer was accepted.
At that time in 2024, Roberts, 34, was working several jobs in addition to being a dancer. “I couldn’t afford a $500,000 apartment,” she said. “I don’t have a parent who was going to make a down payment. But I wanted to put down roots.” First-time homebuyer grants, a favorable lending package from its credit union, and building income limits helped make that happen. It closed at an interest rate of 4.5 percent.
After nearly two years of home ownership, Roberts says one of the biggest misunderstandings about this is that everything is settled once you own the home. “I couldn’t predict this economy. Our condo association just raised our condo fees by 13 percent,” she said. “But I still can’t overstate how it feels like I have a refuge, like my physical space is my own. I mean, it’s the bank’s property. But it’s mine.”
Verified for future purchase in Roslindale
Kathleen Kenny
Age at purchase: 32
Budget: less than $500,000
Kathleen Kenney had been living in Boston for more than 10 years — in seven apartments in several different neighborhoods — before settling in Roslindale. She has always dreamed of settling down to own her own home.
“I was getting out of a long-term relationship, and I needed to find new housing, kind of in a hurry. It kind of killed me to think about doing the first and last safe thing — going into Boston’s brutal rental market and buying new furniture for a place that wasn’t going to be permanent,” she said. “So I thought, ‘I’ve got the down payment. “And if I can pull it together and find a place to buy within a short period of time, I might as well try.” And then, if not, I can always come back and rent something.
Kenny’s priority was to find an apartment she could rent. She had no immediate plans to become a landlord, but she was finishing her doctorate and knew she would start looking for work within the year. “I didn’t know where I was going to land,” she said. “So I wanted to have a backup plan.”
After she turned 32 in 2021, she bought a one-bedroom apartment in Roslindale at an interest rate of 2.75 percent. Six months later, she got a job in Providence, where she moved for more than a year before deciding to become a renter again. “I had the luxury of stability and flexibility,” she said. “Why not rent in Providence for a year?” “[I can] He rented my place at home for a year. If I hate it, I can go back, but I can do it without having to sell my house that I worked so hard to get.
Kinney found tenants for her place in Roslindale and still rents it in Providence. She said she felt she made the right decision with the purchase.
“Life is full of gambles,” Kenny said. “If I’m going to gamble, why not gamble on myself?”
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