CONSUMER CATCH-UP: More singles are becoming homeowners, the Bay Area tops the list of best money managers, and streaming music now accounts for 80% of the music industry's revenue

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- More single Americans are becoming homeowners

A new survey reveals the share of homeownership by single people has hit a new all-time high of 38.4%.

Haus, a company that partners with home buyers to reduce costs, analyzed Census Bureau data for 2018, the most recent year available. This trend reflects the overall growth of Americans who are single; Haus noted that the number of single Americans rose from 67.2% to 72.3% from 2008 to 2018. Analysts predict that this trend will result in more builders creating homes tailored to singles and other first-time home buyers.

Even with the economy and job market improving, more Americans are delaying marriage, but are still interested in building wealth through homeownership. Some are buying houses with their unmarried partners -- 9% in 2019, up 1% from 2018 -- and others are finding more creative ways of pooling resources for a home, such as finding roommates or buying with friends.

Still, buying a home hasn't necessarily gotten any easier. The national median home price has risen 54% since 2012, outstripping the 20% growth in average wages during that time. This means that single homeownership is more prevalent in less-expensive markets. Less than 10% of young people are single homeowners in places such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Jose.

San Francisco, Bay Area cities dominate list of best money managers

Bay Area cities take up 6 slots in the top ten American cities for money management, according to WalletHub.

WalletHub compared more than 2.500 American cities based on 10 "key indicators of money management," including credit score, number of late payments, and mortgage debt-to-income ratio. They determined that San Francisco was the top large city (over 300,000 residents) when it comes to handling finances. Sunnyvale was number one for mid-sized cities (100,000 to 300,000 people), and Cupertino was the top small city (under 100,000 people).

But out of all the cities regardless of size, Bay Area locations dominated the top ten list. Cupertino was top overall, followed by Los Altos. Sunnyvale and Palo Alto took 5th and 6th place, with Mountain view in 8th, and Saratoga in 9th. The Bay Area's high credit scores, low credit card debt, low student loan debt-to-income ratio, and low late payment rates contributed to its high rankings.

Streaming now accounts for 80% of all the music industry's revenue

Streaming services, such as Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music, now account for almost 80% of the music industry's total revenue.

New data published by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) shows that revenue from streaming services grew almost 20% last year to total about $8.8 billion. That makes up an overwhelming portion of the revenue for recorded music overall, which grew 14%, from $9.8 billion to $11.1 billion.

Analysts attribute streaming's growth to the increase in subscription service revenue, which saw an increase of 25%. The number of paid streaming music subscriptions was 60.4 million in 2019.

On the other hand, revenues from radio services fell 4%, and digital downloads plunged 18%. Physical music media such as CDs also fell greatly -- but were offset by a 19% increase in vinyl sales.

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.