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What’s the fastest growing demographic of homebuyers?

Is it Gen Y first-time buyers? Young married couples? Seniors looking to downsize? The answer is “None of the above,” as the demographic of homebuyers that grown the quickest is…cue the drum roll, please… single women.

It’s true, as studies reveal that unmarried, solo, female buyers are not only buying more homes than ever before this year, but have been the fastest-growing demographic since 2011.

In fact, data shows that 18% of the most recent homebuyers were single women. To put it in context, single men only made up 7% of recent homebuyers, so half the rate of women buying their own houses.

“Skip the spouse and buy a house” has become the rallying cry for single ladies who are working out their priorities and opting to invest in property before worrying about their relationship, according to a recent Bloomberg article.

Out of all homebuyer demographics (based on gender and civil status), single women were the second largest group of recent homebuyers, behind only married couples (65% of all buyers) and even ahead of unmarried couples such as boyfriends and girlfriends (8%).

Add it all up, and it looks like this:

65% Married buyers

18% Single female buyers

8% Unmarried couples

7% Single male buyers

That’s remarkable when you consider that up until 1839 or thereabouts, women couldn’t even own a home, by themselves or even along with their husband! In the newly formed United States, women – even married women – were not legally allowed to own property, enter into contracts, or earn a salary. In fact, they were shut out from having any legal existence aside from their husband.

That all started a slow and gradual change in 1839, when individual states began to adopt the Married Women’s Property Act, granting ownership rights to women. Progress was slow, incremental and hard-fought, but thanks to tireless women’s rights pioneers like Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ernestine Rose, Paulina Wright Davis and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, our country turned a corner for women, allowing them to own and control their own property.

By 1860, 14 states had passed some version of the Act; 29 states had instituted it by the end of the Civil War; and by 1900, every state had given married women the right to own and control their property, including the right to buy a home.

But it was still almost unheard of for a woman to buy her own home, unless she inherited it when her husband died.

However, female homeownership rates did begin a slow ascent during the second half of the 1900s, especially after WWII, but were still nominals.

The real progress started in 1981, according to the National Association of Realtors, when single women home buyers first outpaced single men. Another significant increase happened between 1994 and 2002, when the number of unwed women who owned a home grew from 13.9 million to 17.5 million.

Here are some more notable statistics concerning the push to own their own home by women across the U.S.:

36%

The percentage of single women living at home with their parents or relatives; the highest percentage since 1940!

32 years old

The median age for single female first-time homebuyers.

$49,000

The median income for single women who are first-time homebuyers.

In fact, women are well represented when it comes to all homebuyers, from those who bought a home recently to first-time buyers and more:

Bucking public perception, more women are now living alone than men by a significant margin; 15.5 million (women) to 11.8 million (men).

Of these single people that live alone, women were also more likely than to own their home (56%) compared to men (only 47%).

While women have come a long way when it comes to owning our own homes, we also have some progress yet to be made when it comes to financial independence.

Consider that women still earn an average of 19% less money than men as of 2015 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That affords women far fewer options when it comes to buying their home instead of renting, closing off access to one of the pillars of financial growth.

Another head scratching disparity between the sexes is the fact that homes that single men buy appreciate faster than single female-owned homes. In fact, according to a study by RealtyTrac, single men see their homes appreciate by 16% more than those belonging to single women.

Comparing tax records of 2.1 million single-family homes across the country, the study concluded that the average current market value of homes owned by single men is $255,226, versus only $229,094 for those owned by single women – a 10% value differential.