When it comes to dating, we all have our own kooky preferences for finding that special someone. Whether we’re looking strictly for dog lovers, vegetarians, outdoorsy types or homebodies, everyone has a check-list of “must haves” or “would likes” to screen out the best possible prospects.
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we asked ourselves whether a person’s living situation affects their chances of finding love? Are women more attracted to men who own a home? Do men prefer women who rent in the suburbs vs. the city? We fielded our Love & Housing survey asking more than 2,000 US adults how much they care about a potential partner’s housing preference.
We found some surprising and some not-so-surprising stats on how today’s singles view dating and real estate.
Single and living with your parents? It may be time to move out.
It is now officially official that if you call your parents, “roomies,” you probably have a non-existent dating life. According to our survey, only 5% of unmarried U.S. adults would prefer date someone in that living situation.
But parents aside, most unmarried adults (62%) would rather date someone who lives alone versus someone who lives with other people — which makes sense. Living alone means no distractions and more privacy. However, when it comes to location and the type of home, there was definitely a noticeable difference between men and women. More women preferred to date someone who lived in a house in the suburbs and more men preferred dating someone in an apartment in the city. What can we say, guys like the fast-paced city life and girls long for the white picket fence!
| Would you, personally, prefer dating someone who lives…? | |
| Total, Unmarried U.S. Adults | |
| Alone | 62% |
| With other people | 14% |
| Other or None | 24% |
| Would you, personally, prefer dating someone who lives…? | |||
| Total | Unmarried Men | Unmarried Women | |
| Alone in a house in the suburbs | 33% | 29% | 37% |
| Alone in an apartment in the city | 29% | 32% | 25% |
| With roommates in either the suburbs or the city | 9% | 14% | 9% |
| With their parents | 5% | 6% | 4% |
More men open to shacking up to save money
When you take that big step to live with your boyfriend or girlfriend, you are ultimately giving up your single life and layin down some commitment. But these days, this move is sometimes less about the solidifying the relationship and more about being economical. In our survey, a whopping 74% of unattached renters (meaning those who don’t own a home and haven’t tied the knot/haven’t made the decision to live together) said they would be at least somewhat willing to live with their significant other to save money. What we found was rather interesting. Men are more likely to be very willing or willing than women (51% vs. 34%) to giving up the bachelor pad to save some money!
| Would you be willing to live with a boyfriend, girlfriend or significant other to save money due to the economy? | |||
| Total | Unmarried Men | Unmarried Women | |
| Very Willing | 21% | 23% | 18% |
| Willing | 22% | 28% | 16% |
| Somewhat willing | 32% | 28% | 36% |
| Not at all willing | 26% | 21% | 30% |
Homeownership is NOT a deal breaker.
A majority (63%) of unmarried U.S. adults said it didn’t matter whether their significant other owned their own home or rented. That said, there are definitely more than a few picky daters out there who do care. Women in particular are more likely than men to prefer dating a homeowner versus a renter (36% vs. 19%). What can we say, some women really know what they want.
| Would prefer dating someone who rents or owns their own home? | |||
| Total | Unmarried Men | Unmarried Women | |
| Owns their own home | 28% | 19% | 36% |
| Rents their home | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| It Doesn’t matter to me | 63% | 72% | 54% |
| Not Sure | 7% | 6% | 8% |
Younger daters say homeownership signals commitment
Among unmarried U.S. adults, 43% said homeownership is NOT an indication that someone may be serious about being in a long-term committed relationship, such as marriage. And when we looked at what men and women said separately, there was only a sliver of a difference — 36% of women and 33% of men said owning a home was a signal that someone is ready to settle down.
However, when we took a at the differences in opinions across different generations, 44% of millenials (18-34 year olds) felt that homeownership does equal commitment while only 26% of Baby Boomers (55+ year olds) felt the same.
| Do you think homeownership indicates that a person may be serious about being in a long-term committed relationship, such as marriage? | |||||
| Total | 18-34 YO | 35-44 YO | 45-54 YO | 55+ YO | |
| Yes | 34% | 44% | 28% | 26% | 26% |
| No | 43% | 35% | 50% | 54% | 47% |
| Not Sure | 22% | 21% | 21% | 21% | 26% |
What spells love at first sight for first-time homebuyers
We asked all U.S. adults surveyed to select every amentitiy that would make them “fall in love” with a home. For men and women in the market for their first home, both sexes are actually seeing eye to eye on what’s most important — which according to our survey is the master bathroom, followed by a … walk-in closet!? Guess there is a lot more synergy between the sexes than we thought and that men care as much about their shoes and clothes as women do!
Maybe the battle of the sexes on this issue isn’t much of a battle after all.
Love and housing – it’s a tricky little thing :)
