Or perhaps it’s just that they no longer support the belief tying the knot is tied to taking the property ownership plunge. Like the Aretha Franklin song says, when it comes to buying condos: “Sisters are doing it for themselves.” And Calgary and Edmonton women are no exception to this liberation.

According to a recent TD Canada Trust Financial Group poll, females in the two largest Alberta metro areas were more geared up to buy than female residents of any other Canadian city. Two-thirds of those asked cited a desire to get their Jimmy Choos in the door of the market as the biggest reason for wanting to own. That was 12 per cent higher than the national average. Also topping motivators for Calgary city girls looking to buy was “financial security” and a goal to build equity with an investment in not just a room, but a whole home of one’s own.

The national survey polled more than 700 women aged 20 to 45 who have bought homes independently (not with a spouse or common-law partner).

Not surprisingly, women nationally preferred condos, with 42 per cent choosing the more-secure and low-maintenance option over single-family homes (34 per cent) and 13 per cent for townhomes. In Calgary, the tally of femmes choosing condos over freehold homes was 31 per cent.

When asked if they would sell, single gals said a walk down the aisle would be the key reason (40 per cent) to unload their digs in Calgary and Edmonton alike. In Toronto, that figure was nearly identical at 41 per cent, while Vancouverite women were less likely to let go of their investment for a ring, (28 per cent), and eastern ladies even less so, at 20 per cent in Atlantic Canada and 11 per cent in Montreal. Albertan women cited trading up to a better address as a key factor to sell, at 50 per cent, on par with the national average.

A similar 2007 Royal LePage study shows a rising trend in women investing in property, and at a much younger age. While the poll did not ask the same ques­-tions of men who were buying as singles, it did reveal females who go it alone tend to be educated (49 per cent had university degrees), seem to be waiting longer to pair up (the average age of first home buy was 29 and 82 per cent were still single at time of purchase), and they are savvy about the market (having done online research before even meeting with a realtor).

Condos were also the preferred style of home in Calgary, with affordability, access to downtown and lack of maintenance given as reasons. But affordability is in the eye of the beholder in the hot Calgary market, as addresses in Mount Royal, Cliff Bungalow, Lower Mount Royal and Kensington, in the $350,000 to $450,000 range were the most coveted among single females surveyed. New and newly renovated were also the more popular choices for the busy single gal in Calgary, while the age of first purchase seems to be getting younger, a departure from when single female buyers were mainly divorcees in their 40s or older. “Women are becoming financially sophisticated at earlier ages and are recognizing the investment potential of entering the housing market earlier,” says Corinne Lyall, associate broker for Royal LePage Benchmark in Calgary. “Parents are key influencers and are willing to divert their own savings to give their kids a financial kick start.”

In some U.S. markets, developers have even started targeting condos at women overtly. One Dallas realtor marketing an upscale tower gave the property exposure by opening it up to women’s groups for meetings. Like their Canuck counterparts, designs include wish-list features high on ladies’ lists, from walk-in closets and kitchens with loads of workspace and cabinets with­-in reach, to spa-like baths. And new builders seem to be listening.

In Calgary, Shane Homes launched a line of designs in 2005 based on focus groups with women, after being inspired by Jeanne Thomas Yaccato, author of The 80% Minority: Reaching the Real World of Women Consumers and president of a Toronto-based consulting firm which helps companies apply “gender intelligence” to marketing. The concept won Shane a provincial Award of Excellence, and the designs have been inked into the builder’s permanent repertoire of options in its homes.

Times, they are a-changing. “When it comes to hunting for the perfect home, women know what they want and how to get it,” says Lyall.