Co-buying is rewriting homeownership, and romance is no longer required
Co-buying homes, platonically? That's a trend emerging among homeowners today.
Kate Wood, a lending expert with NerdWallet, told Fox News Digital that co-buying is attractive because housing is "incredibly expensive in the United States."
Wood said people are co-buying homes with friends and family members: "What we're seeing rising now is co-buying between friends. Or people who are family members, but basically buying a home with someone that you're in a non-romantic relationship with."
According to the National Association of Realtors' 2025 Profile, first-time homebuyers consisted of 25% single women and 10% single men, while the share of married couples remained flat at 50%, based on data collected from July 2024 to June 2025. In comparison, among all homebuyers, 61% are married couples, 21% are single women, and 9% are single men.
NAR also shared that the median age for buying a home for the first time rose from 38 in 2024, to 40. Additionally, purchases made by first-time homeowners made up 21% of all buyers in 2025.
Kristina Modares, a co-buying strategist at Joynt, shared her experience in co-buying with friends, family, and one romantic partner.
"I tried to buy a house when I was 23. I don't know why I thought I could do it on my own," she told Fox News Digital. "I was just like, yeah, like I'm living with five roommates. Like, I can do this. And then looking into it, I couldn't get a proof or mortgage. So I asked a friend, and he was like, 'Yeah, I'll buy a house with you.' So that's how I kind of got into it."
Wood said one in four home purchases were made by single women in 2024.
"It is really intriguing that it's single women who make up this larger proportion because it is substantially higher than single men," Wood said.
HOUSING COSTS ARE CRUSHING FAMILIES – HERE’S THE WAY OUT
Wood said this signals a shift from "old-fashioned" ways to a modern way of owning a home.
"Now we're seeing people do things in the order that makes the most sense for them for where they're at in their lives financially, but also emotionally, just simply how they're feeling, what their readiness is for these different milestones at different times," she said.
Modares warned that the decision to co-buy must not be taken lightly, saying you have to be ready to "vet yourself" and be a good partner.
Modares added that this trend can encourage homeownership to be looked at as an investment.
HOME PRICES ARE RISING AND FALLING THE MOST IN THESE US CITIES
"The American dream is really being re-imagined in many ways. So it's kind of allowing more options and ways to dream," Modares said. "Co-buying is kind of evolving to meet Americans where they are today."
Modares said she is excited about the new way people are choosing to own a home.
"I think it's also the world's changing in a lot of different ways that's pushing us into that more community living, which I'm really excited about, honestly," she said.
The median U.S. monthly housing payment fell to nearly the lowest level in two years, but it could have fallen even more if not for still-rising sale prices, according to a recent Redfin report.
The monthly housing payment fell to $2,413 during the four weeks ending Jan. 11. However, the national median home-sale price still climbed, up 1% year over year. That's down significantly from the 4% to 5% increase at the start of 2025, according to the brokerage's Thursday report.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
The metros that saw the biggest declines were mainly in the South and on the West Coast. For instance, the top declines were Dallas and San Jose, California, which saw median home-sale prices dip 4.4% and 3.7% year over year, respectively.
About 15 metros overall saw their median home-sale price decline in the four weeks ending on Jan. 11.
The cities that saw the biggest increase were Detroit, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Warren, Michigan.
Fox Business' Daniella Genovese contributed to this report