Women's pay may still lag behind that of their male counterparts on average, but single women are taking the lead when it comes to purchasing real estate. In fact, single women are buying homes at twice the rate of single men, and they have been for at least a few years now.

That's according to data from the National Association of Realtors' "2017 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers." Married couples made up the largest share of homebuyers last year at 65 percent, but single females came in second with 18 percent. Just 7 percent of buyers were single men.

Primarily, older women are choosing to invest in real estate. The largest percentage of single female buyers is found in the 72 and older age group, the NAR reports. And while the number of single women buying houses goes up with age, it drops for single men.

Single women comprised 20 percent of homebuyers between the ages of 51 and 60 in 2016, but single men only made up 10 percent.