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Flashback 45 years ago, to 1981. Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Nancy Reagan was First Lady, and Dolly Parton topped Billboard charts with “9 to 5”. That year, the National Association of REALTORS® first launched the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, and a stunning finding emerged: single women outpaced single men in the housing market. In fact, single women were second only to married couples. Today, single women are surpassing all odds in the housing market and purchasing homes within an increasingly unaffordable housing market. Let’s take a look at how they stack up compared to their single male counterparts by pouring themselves just a “cup of ambition.”

What is striking about single women home buyers is that it was not until 1974 that women were legally able to obtain a mortgage without a co-signer. Prior to the passage of the Fair Housing Act’s prohibitions against “sex” discrimination in housing-related transactions and the protections of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, it was commonplace for a widow to need a male relative as a co-signer. Women had no legal recourse under federal law for this or any other kind of lending discrimination.

In 1981, 73% of home buyers were married couples, 11% were single women, and 10% were single men. Today, those shares stand at 61% for married couples, 21% for single women, and 9% for single men. The highest share of single women buyers was in 2006, when it stood at 22%. Between 2016 and 2025, the share of single women ranged from 17% to 21%. In 2010, the share of single men rose to a high of 12% but has stayed in recent years between 7% to 9% of buyers.

Among first-time buyers, the share of single buyers is even more pronounced. In 1985, 75% of first-time buyers were married, while today that share is just 50%. Single women first-time buyers grew from 11 percent in 1985 to 25% in 2025. Single men rose slightly from nine percent in 1985 to 10% in the most recent data.

In recent years, an easy explanation for the rise in single women buyers was the drop in the share of Americans who are married. Using Census data, in 1950, 23% of Americans ages 15 and up had never been married. In 2025, that share stands at 34.8% of Americans. The share of married adults is just 47% in 2025.

But then why are women buying homes and men are not? For the answer to that, it is best to look at who is buying and the composition of their household. Both men and women are most likely to say they are purchasing for the desire to own a home of their own, but a higher share of women purchased to be close to friends and family. Both home buyers may be purchasing due to a change in family situation. When collecting data on whether a buyer is single now, a data point not collected is whether the buyer was once married and is now widowed or divorced; in both cases, proximity to friends and family may be important to women. Interestingly, men are more likely to cite retirement as a reason to purchase at 11% compared to women at just 5%.

When looking at neighborhood choice, both single sets of buyers place a high priority on affordability. Women outpace men in wanting friends and family close in their neighborhood choice.

One potential reason single women outperform single men in purchasing homes is due to who is living in the home. Single women are more likely to have children under the age of 18 in the home and slightly more likely to purchase a multigenerational home. Women may value the stability of homeownership in both scenarios. For instance, she knows where a child will attend school and would not need to risk moving homes or schools if the rent increases. She also knows what her home expenses will be, even if she has young adults who boomeranged back or elderly relatives in her home. Thus, she has removed the unknowns from her living situation.

The second major question posed is finances. Women home buyers typically purchase homes as first-time buyers, with a household income of $73,000, compared to single men at $66,400. While the incomes are nearly comparable, the difference is making it harder for single men to enter homeownership. This is especially important when thinking about the difficulties of housing affordability.

As a single buyer, financial sacrifices are common when purchasing. Forty-one percent of women make financial sacrifices compared to 31% of men who purchase homes. Common financial sacrifices include cutting spending on non-essential goods, entertainment, clothes, canceling vacation plans, and even taking on a second job. These sacrifices only underscore how important homeownership is to women, as these sacrifices nearly all outpace those of male buyers.

Another way single buyers save for homeownership is by living with family before buying a home. Among first-time buyers who are single, 33 percent of single men and 30 percent of single women lived with friends and family first before purchasing.

The median age of first-time single women buyers is 44, while the median age of first-time male buyers is 39. Homeownership is achieved for women, but it may take a few more years for her to ultimately purchase a home of her own. Over time, the age of repeat buyers evens out and is nearly the same for both single men and women, which could indicate life and career changes are still happening later in life at the same age.

Regardless of how these single women are entering homeownership, it is clear that they are ambitious to own their own homes and willing to make sacrifices to do so. There are always opportunities in any housing market. There is clearly an opportunity to bring more single men into homeownership, so they, too, can start building the wealth single women are accumulating through homeownership. For more on these trends and others, check out the full Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report.