Bachelor pads get all the attention, but women owning keys to her very own castle are the latest trend in homeownership.

Single women comprised 20% of home buyers in 2007, according to a study of the National Association of Realtors. That’s a sizable upswing from 1995, when a NAR study showed women only comprised 15% of total homebuyers. For some comparison, single males only comprised 9% of home buyers in both 1995 and 2006.

While the majority of home buyers are married couples, women have increased purchasing power and aren’t waiting for a ring on their finger to buy a home. Check out how one such woman, NYC’s Petra von Ziegesar, became a condo owner when she didn’t think she could afford it…only to watch her investment go up high enough to rival her view.