Want to buy a house? Get married to increase your chances, analyst concludes

As “affordability” takes center stage in the political discussion, people on both sides of the aisle are lamenting the plight of young people who struggle to afford a home.

But can revamping economic policy actually fix the problem?

Scott Winship, Ph.D. and director of the American Enterprise Institute’s (AEI) Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility, thinks it’s more than that.

In a recent analysis, Winship argues delaying marriage has a greater impact on homeownership rates than broad economic changes.

He observes homeownership rates among those aged 25-34 have fallen steeply from 54% in 1980 to about 35% in 2025.

Homeownership among those aged 35-54 also fell from 77% to 60%.

And during the same period, marriage rates have been falling.

In 1980, 67% of those aged 25-34 were married. Now, it’s just 37%.

Americans are also getting married significantly later.

In 1960, the average age to get married was 20 for women and 23 for men. Now, it’s 28 for women and 31 for men.

Winship argues one of the primary causes of home affordability is young people marrying later – or not at all – and thus not pooling their financial resources.

“It has never been the case that a large share of single young people has been able to afford homeownership,” he writes. “Not when marriage was common, not when it was rare. To be young and a homeowner is generally to be married, and that has always been true.

“Married couples are in a better position than single young adults to afford a home and always have been.”

According to the National Association of Realtors, the average age of first-time home buyers rose from 29 in 1981 to 40 in 2025.

“It’s not that down payments have become more expensive, or even that they’ve become more expensive relative to wages,” Winship observes. “It’s that fewer people can afford a down payment because they are not combining their wages with a spouse’s income.”

Prior studies have shown marriage provides an array of economic benefits far beyond homeownership. 

A previous AEI study found higher marriage rates are “strongly associated with more economic growth, more economic mobility, less child poverty, and higher median family income” in the United States.

Another study by the Ohio State University found married individuals who stayed married had a higher net worth per person. Married individuals’ wealth increased by 16% annually, while divorced individuals had a 14% average increase and single individuals only 8%. 

But what about the conservative dream of single-income families where husbands can be the sole breadwinner and wives the homemaker?

Winship acknowledges this ideal may be more difficult to achieve than it was for prior generations.

“[Single-income] families have been hurt by the greater purchasing power that dual-earner families command, which leaves them at a financial disadvantage when looking for family-friendly homes,” Winship wrote.

In 1960, over half (52%) of married couples aged 25-34 were single-earners.

But this number dropped to 22% by 1980 and 10% by 2025.

As women’s educational attainment and labor force participation increases, the economic landscape necessarily adapts.

This doesn’t make purchasing a home impossible for young people, but they need to be aware of the social factors that make it possible, Winship notes.

“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to increase incomes or lower housing costs,” he concludes. “But it does mean we should perhaps worry less about those things and more about social breakdown.”