The Ragetté Report
Posts
The “Valentine’s Day Effect” in Real Estate

The “Valentine’s Day Effect” in Real Estate

Plus, Where You Can Buy Your Valentine a Luxury Home, Single-Women are Crushing Real Estate, Optimism Among Buyers for 2025.

Ralph Ragetté Jr
February 14, 2025 • Reading Time: 9 minutes

Valentine’s Day isn’t just a win for florists and chocolatiers — real estate gets a boost too! Many sellers list their homes in February to get ahead of the spring market, giving them more options when they become buyers later in the season. Or maybe love is simply inspiring more couples to take the next step to move in together! 🏡

Today’s ‘Valentine Inspired’ Topics:

The “Valentine’s Day Effect”
Where You Can Afford a Luxury Home for Your Valentine
Single-Women are Crushing It
Optimism Among Buyers for 2025

The “Valentine’s Day Effect” in Real Estate

The "Valentine's Day effect" is real. Every year, the holiday sparks a surge in homebuying as couples take the next big step in their relationships. Whether it's moving in together, upgrading to a larger space, or ditching rent for a mortgage, lovebirds use the occasion as a catalyst for major financial and lifestyle decisions. Beyond romance, practical factors like skyrocketing rents and better mortgage approval odds for couples make homeownership more attractive. Plus, February is a sweet spot for buyers, with lower competition and better deals before the spring market heats up.

Ralph’s Take

Every year, Valentine’s Day sparks big decisions — couples fresh off the holiday high start planning their future, whether it’s moving in together, buying their first home, or upgrading to a bigger space. With high rental rates, this trend isn’t slowing down anytime soon. It’s not just about love — it’s about making smart financial moves. An early surge in buyers helps fuel the market, setting the stage for a strong spring season and giving real estate the boost it needs at just the right time.

Westchester Weekly Market Tracker 📈

‘Coming Soon’ Listings: 22 ↑+4
New Listings: 155 ↓-32
Price Reductions: 43 ↓-11
Pending Sales: 177 ↑+29
Closed Sales: 122 ↓-14

💰 Highest Sale: 33 Valleyview Ave, Rye: $4,333,000 (8% over ask)

_{Property Type: Single-Family. OneKey MLS, Inc. 1/7/25 - 2/14/25.}

Where You Can Afford a Luxury Home for Your Valentine

Realtor.com’s latest report breaks down the income required to afford a luxury home in every state. By analyzing the top 5% of listings and factoring in a 6.89% mortgage rate with a 20% down payment, researchers determined the minimum salary needed under the 30% income rule. Here’s what it takes to buy in the 10 priciest luxury markets:

State	Luxury Price	Income
NY	$5,488,510	$1,155,540
HI	$5,257,761	$1,106,959
WY	$4,214,250	$887,260
MA	$4,097,500	$862,680
CA	$4,045,290	$851,687
CT	$3,605,344	$759,062
MT	$3,543,333	$746,006
CO	$3,337,108	$702,588
RI	$2,995,000	$630,561
UT	$2,918,795	$614,517

Ralph’s Take

By defining “luxury” as the top 5% of the market by price, Realtor.com makes cross-market comparisons much easier. The regional differences are striking, New York’s luxury homes average $5.49M (requiring a $1.15M income), while in Kentucky, it’s $824K (requiring a $173K income). If you’re looking for a luxury home and considering where to retire, this could be a great way to narrow down your options.

All the Single Ladies … Buying Homes! 💃

Single women have steadily increased their presence in the housing market, rising from 11% of buyers in 1981 to 20% today, compared to 8% for single men. Among first-time homebuyers, the share of single buyers is more pronounced. Single women first-time buyers increased from 11% in 1985 to 24% in 2024, while single men grew from 9% to 11%.

1974: The first-year women were legally allowed to obtain a mortgage without a cosigner (crazy!)
2006: The highest share of single women buyers, 22%
2010: The highest share of single men buyers, 12%

Ralph’s Take

Single women are outpacing men in homeownership, driven by a strong desire for stability and financial control. With 34% of Americans never married in 2024 (up from 23% in 1950), women are more likely to have children at home or buy multi-generational homes, making homeownership a priority. Owning a home ensures predictable expenses, avoids rent hikes, and secures school stability for their kids. Women are also willing to make sacrifices to achieve this goal, while men are more likely to buy for retirement (7% vs. 4%).

Should you renovate before selling?

68% of homeowners make at least one home improvement before listing their home on the market.

Before you commit to the hassle of turning your home into a construction zone, let’s talk about what’s actually worth your time and money. So, if you’re wondering, Should I fix this? Replace that? Or just list as-is? — let’s talk.

I’ll help you decide what’s worth doing (and what’s not) and, if needed, connect you with trusted service providers who’ll get the job done right — without overcharging you.

Mortgage Watch 📉

Mortgage rates fell slightly this week, continuing a streak of decreases after a recent surge above 7% at the beginning of the year. Today’s average 30-year fixed mortgage rate dips just under 7%, at 6.96%. (⬇️ .07%, from this time last week.)

> The rate you may be eligible for can vary greatly from the daily average published via Mortgage News Daily. I use this figure as a proxy for how the mortgage market is shifting.