“These are America's first global citizens,” Zogby says. “They've got experience levels that are so different from previous generations that they are finding better mentors among each other.”

Already, Gen-Yers make up a third of the nation's total population and influence as much as half of all spending in the U.S. economy.

They stand to amass even bigger bank accounts than their parents—with a combined earning power of a whopping $1.6 trillion. Over 35 percent of Gen-Y households earn more than $75,000 a year, compared to 40 percent of Baby Boomers. Considering the generation gap, that's pretty impressive.

In addition, studies show that Gen-Yers are signing titles and latching onto mortgages at younger ages than ever seen before. According to a Century 21 home buyer survey released early this year, Gen-Yers are becoming first-time home buyers at an average age of 26, three years younger than the average for Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers.

Still, the biggest sign of the times comes with the rise of a new breed of consumer—women with income and no kids, or WINKs, which now account for more than 70 percent of all females between the ages of 20 and 28.

These gals are serious spenders, and in the New Gen-Y World Order, they will command a certain superpower status with their burgeoning economic clout. They are poised to become the housing industry's next big wave of buyers, pulling in hefty paychecks that they spend at their own discretion.

And that force of will, according to experts, is precisely what sets these women apart from their mothers. WINKs—highly educated, assertive, and independent—are actually surpassing their male counterparts in earning and purchasing power, with more than half raking in more than $50,000 per year.

But more importantly, unlike the legions of female home buyers before them, WINKs are opting to buy homes before getting married or having children—a historic departure from the well-worn path their parents took to homeownership. For many of them, it's a matter of a financial investment, not building a nest.

It's a quiet revolution that will dramatically recast women as home builders' primary target, according to Holly Brickley, a strategic analyst with Outlaw Consulting, a Gen-Y-focused firm based in San Francisco.

“From all our research, women see themselves as having much more control over their financial destination,” Brickley says. “They have all the tools and powers to make that [financial independence] a reality. In terms of achievement stats, in high school and college, they're kind of kicking butt. It's not just a feminist ideal.”