Slog - Comments on The Downtown Condo Gender Gap http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap This is interesting: The rising cost of condos in downtown Seattle is driving single women out of the area, according to the Seattle Times. Half of downtown condo buyers are couples, a third are single men and the remaining 17 percent are single women, condo marketer Leslie Williams told a forum on downtown living presented this morning by the Downtown Seattle Association. A decade ago, single men and single women each were about 25 percent of the market, said Williams, president of Williams Marketing. "Females just can't afford the prices downtown," she said. "The biggest issue is affordability."... Copyright 2008 Wed, 16 May 2007 15:22:42 -0800 Fri, 18 May 2007 19:22:33 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Paul or it could just be that gay guys value living on capitol hill more than single women and lesbians.

]]> Paul http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718202 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718202 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 15:35:03 -0800 Comment by louley Or, it could be that economic equality between men and women is still a joke.

]]> louley http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718211 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718211 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 15:41:11 -0800 Comment by Jason Yeah, I suspect this is totally a demographics/geography thing. In most big coastal cities the downtown area has a higher % of single men due to the gay male contingency. The single-woman ratio is higher in places like Madison, WI and Olympia, WA too.

]]> Jason http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718213 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718213 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 15:41:23 -0800 Comment by Josh Feit Kinda makes you wish Jamie Pedersen had been better on that condo bill.

]]> Josh Feit http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718215 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718215 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 15:42:50 -0800 Comment by Dougsf Aren't unmarried people considered single, or does "couples" imply marriage? What I'm barking at is I can see more young people getting swept up in home ownership and pooling their resources, as couples, to purchase their first home - whether or not SHE or HE actually owns the place is another story.

Or what Paul said.

Or what Eli said.

]]> Dougsf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718216 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718216 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 15:44:27 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle I agree with @2.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718228 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718228 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 15:52:34 -0800 Comment by tsm Some studies have indicated that women are less likely than men to try negotiating better salaries when seeking a job - might it also be that women are less likely to aggressively haggle over prices in homebuying?

]]> tsm http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718241 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718241 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 16:00:40 -0800 Comment by tomasyalba Or what about this: single women in a position to buy, being on the whole better-educated than single male counterparts at that income level, have done their homework on how stupid the market is right now. They are choosing to rent. Note that the article says 80% of downtown residents are renters. High-earning single women may be living quite comfortably in one of the posh apartment buildings, or renting one of the bajillion downtown condos that investors can’t unload.

]]> tomasyalba http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718257 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718257 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 16:30:03 -0800 Comment by Gomez One thing to consider with the single woman income gap is that many young women elect to marry a man rather than try to make it on their own. Men don't have that option, really. Hence the gap.

You're not really driving single women out. They're just getting married.

]]> Gomez http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718277 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718277 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 16:50:39 -0800 Comment by jamier Women must just be bad at negotiating and marry white people for money and don't want to live in nice buildings and don't like living in expensive cities.

It must be ANYTHING besides that the deck is stacked against women because white male bosses decide salaries and white male developers set prices and white male bankers decide finance rates and white male politicians make the laws. Considering this is not even an option!

(Same goes with blacks and hispanics, they must just like stealing and being lazy, respectively.)

]]> jamier http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718427 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718427 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 18:54:58 -0800 Comment by tsm jamier, do you declare it impossible that _all_ of those things you mentioned, sexism included, are true? Or some subset of them? Or that some of them might be related to sexism? Or is it presumptuous for anyone to explore the issue beyond simply screaming "OMG SEXISM!!!" and leaving it at that?

]]> tsm http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718442 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718442 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 19:38:11 -0800 Comment by tsm Oh, and also: if you read the article, you see that the point is actually that the number of single women buying condos has DECREASED over the last few years. That decrease isn't quite as easy to explain with a simple "It's the WHITE MAN'S FAULT!", unless you're going to claim that white men weren't holding managerial positions and political positions in earlier days.

]]> tsm http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718448 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718448 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 19:52:11 -0800 Comment by Sean I guess it's good to know where single women are not living, but it would be even better to know where they ARE living. Anyone?

]]> Sean http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718475 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718475 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 21:43:04 -0800 Comment by Gomez Also, “Females just can’t afford the prices downtown,” she said. “The biggest issue is affordability.” is kinda fresh coming from a condo marketer. Tell that your enablers ERRRR clients.

]]> Gomez http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718513 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718513 Boom Wed, 16 May 2007 23:04:07 -0800 Comment by Anonymous I go to school with plenty of female engineers to be. If you want to make money than stop masturbating to women's lit and get a real profession.

]]> Anonymous http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718738 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718738 Boom Thu, 17 May 2007 05:32:52 -0800 Comment by Juliet #15: THANK YOU.

Relatedly, the under-45 men I know who got Liberal Arts degrees are making the same mediocre wages as the women I know who got Liberal Arts degrees. The women I know who have law degrees and engineering degrees (under 45) are making the same wages as the men I know who got law degrees and engineering degrees. There is still an advancement gap because women are still more likely to take time off for childcare somewhere in their 20s and 30s, but the studies don't show women as getting less money for the EXACT SAME degree, experience years and position.

]]> Juliet http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718831 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718831 Boom Thu, 17 May 2007 07:10:50 -0800 Comment by Juliet #15: THANK YOU.

Relatedly, the under-45 men I know who got Liberal Arts degrees are making the same mediocre wages as the women I know who got Liberal Arts degrees. The women I know who have law degrees and engineering degrees (under 45) are making the same wages as the men I know who got law degrees and engineering degrees. There is still an advancement gap because women are still more likely to take time off for childcare somewhere in their 20s and 30s, but the studies don't show women as getting less money for the EXACT SAME degree, experience years and position.

]]> Juliet http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718832 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c718832 Boom Thu, 17 May 2007 07:11:05 -0800 Comment by investigatory journalist @2 agreed 100%. That's the first thing I thought when I saw the headline.

the market is absolutely nuts right now and anyone who is buying is a fool.

]]> investigatory journalist http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c719149 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c719149 Boom Thu, 17 May 2007 12:57:49 -0800 Comment by sdoi kczy lypsqor qsucoperi ikcw iuotsmx tmabzysgh dplbtj krwatvbo

]]> sdoi kczy http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c720106 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/05/the_downtown_condo_gender_gap#c720106 Boom Fri, 18 May 2007 19:22:33 -0800