Summer is the peak of wedding season. And following a somewhat promising spring selling season, wedding season across the U.S. means newlyweds are out searching for their first home together.
Even beyond a starter home, some markets are saturated with married couples dominating the majority of new home sales, while some metros attract nearly a 50/50 split between married and single new home buyers. So, where are builders most often catering to married couple? Here’s our breakdown of where buyers are most and least likely to have already said “I do” to their spouse before a new house.
Using data from Metrostudy Analytics, we searched for the top 15 markets with the highest percentage of new home buyers being married over the last three full years—2012 through 2014. Only markets where at least 750 new homes (approximately 250 per year) were included, to focus on bigger metros for builders.
While it’s likely no surprise three markets in Utah—a state with extremely high marriage rates—made the cut, the top market is a bit of a surprise. San Jose, Calif. was No. 1, where an average of 91.14% of new home buyers were married between 2012 and 2014, the height occurring in 2013 at 92.80%. The Washington, D.C., metro area, where marriage rates are a bit lower than many other big cities, also ranks high at an average of 86.74%.
A recent study from the Knot and RealtyTrac also ranks DC as one of the priciest cities to get married, with an average wedding cost of $39,025 in 2014, but that clearly hasn’t put a damper on their housing plans. Markets in Texas and Colorado dominate the majority of the top 15, which is also the case looking back at the last five years instead of just three.
Rank | CBSA | Household Marriage Percent | Household Marriage Percent | Household Marriage Percent | New Home Closings ’12-’14 | 12-’14 Average % of New Home Buyers Married |
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| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|
|
1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 89.07% | 92.80% | 91.54% | 5212 | 91.14% |
2 | Greeley, CO | 90.60% | 88.02% | 84.57% | 3079 | 87.73% |
3 | El Paso, TX | 88.21% | 87.81% | 85.69% | 7521 | 87.24% |
4 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 88.94% | 86.56% | 84.72% | 34138 | 86.74% |
5 | Provo-Orem, UT | 87.86% | 87.51% | 84.03% | 5639 | 86.47% |
6 | Bakersfield, CA | 86.15% | 86.71% | 85.71% | 4190 | 86.19% |
7 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 86.36% | 86.60% | 85.35% | 12151 | 86.10% |
8 | Colorado Springs, CO | 89.55% | 85.94% | 82.79% | 6074 | 86.09% |
9 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | 87.25% | 85.98% | 82.25% | 5086 | 85.16% |
10 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 87.77% | 84.85% | 82.27% | 53004 | 84.96% |
11 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 87.38% | 83.34% | 80.89% | 23078 | 83.87% |
12 | Salt Lake City, UT | 81.24% | 84.70% | 85.32% | 7814 | 83.75% |
13 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 86.41% | 83.60% | 80.93% | 69794 | 83.65% |
14 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | 84.93% | 85.32% | 80.35% | 15999 | 83.53% |
15 | Ogden-Clearfield, UT | 84.18% | 82.40% | 83.70% | 4609 | 83.43% |
The bottom 15 markets for married new home buyers is largely dominated by locales ripe for retirees. Many of Florida’s top new home markets make the list as well as other beach and vacation home markets. In Myrtle Beach, S.C., Northport, Fla. and Cape Coral, Fla., just over half of new home buyers were married between 2012 and 2014.
The top markets from the Knot for priciest places to get married are peppered throughout the New York Metro, which also makes the list of lowest percentage of new home buyers who are married.
Here are the bottom 15:
Rank | CBSA | Household Marriage Percent | Household Marriage Percent | Household Marriage Percent | New Home Closings ’12-’14 | 12-’14 Average % of New Home Buyers Married |
|
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|
|
1 | Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC | 61.99% | 56.12% | 51.18% | 6869 | 56.43% |
2 | North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL | 64.75% | 59.64% | 54.38% | 8761 | 59.59% |
3 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | 68.32% | 59.11% | 52.17% | 6188 | 59.87% |
4 | Jacksonville, NC | 73.58% | 54.39% | 55.06% | 3747 | 61.01% |
5 | The Villages, FL | 66.38% | 56.13% | 66.67% | 8828 | 63.06% |
6 | Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, FL | 66.88% | 61.77% | 62.81% | 5060 | 63.82% |
7 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 65.35% | 63.76% | 65.94% | 26727 | 65.02% |
8 | Salisbury, MD-DE | 72.27% | 60.88% | 63.05% | 5047 | 65.40% |
9 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | 76.10% | 63.86% | 59.11% | 3725 | 66.36% |
10 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | 72.66% | 64.69% | 62.87% | 3432 | 66.74% |
11 | Pittsburgh, PA | 78.99% | 64.61% | 56.69% | 4872 | 66.76% |
12 | Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL | 71.54% | 67.21% | 62.83% | 4049 | 67.19% |
13 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 76.90% | 66.77% | 58.24% | 8260 | 67.30% |
14 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 65.03% | 70.96% | 72.36% | 18025 | 69.45% |
15 | Baton Rouge, LA | 77.38% | 69.11% | 62.56% | 4554 | 69.68% |
So, which builders are best capitalizing on this newlywed market?
A total of 77.30% of new home buyers were married from 2012 through 2014. Builders nationwide who clearly cater to a married buyer include those that, in the same three-year period, closed more than 90% of their new homes to married couples. For once, national production builders don’t make the top 10. Instead, local and regional builders across the country dominate highest percentage of married new home buyers.
Builder Name | New Home Closings ’12-’14 | Household Marriage Percent |
Newmark Homes | 1,185 | 94.59% |
Miller & Smith | 989 | 94.57% |
Landon Homes | 1,079 | 94.39% |
Van Metre Companies | 1,285 | 94.21% |
American Legend Homes | 1,225 | 93.50% |
Classic American Homes (TX) | 754 | 92.26% |
Edge Homes | 1,138 | 91.70% |
Corky McMillin Companies | 1,203 | 91.60% |
Highland Homes (TX) | 5,475 | 91.59% |
Elite Properties of America | 805 | 91.49% |
As more millennials begin to settle down and search for
their starter home, some of these metros that attract married new home buyers
will likely continue to be the top places for the buyers who have said “I do.”
