Single women buy homes at twice the rate single men do

Single women are buying more houses than single men.

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Single women make up 17 percent of homebuyers in the U.S., compared with 7 percent for single men, according to the National Association of Realtors. And that's no new trend: Single ladies have outpaced single men in home buying since 1981, Bloomberg reports.

This dynamic stems in no small part from the large population of single mothers in America. In 2011, there were 8.6 million single-mother households, compared to 2.6 million single-father households.

These women tend to purchase their first home later in life than men — age 34 for single women, compared to 31 for single men. Women also tend to buy slightly cheaper properties (at an average of $173,000) than men do ($190,600).