House lawmakers approved a $6 billion measure that aims to provide rebates

to homeowners who invest in energy efficiency improvements. The bill,

officially known as the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act but better known as

'cash for caulkers,' has been touted by President Obama since December as

one of the signature pieces of his administration's larger job-creation

strategy. The act 'is a common-sense bill that will create jobs, save

consumers money, and strengthen our economy,' President Obama said after the

House passed the measure. 'We have workers eager to do new installations and

renovations, and factories ready to produce new energy-efficient building

supplies.' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., estimates that the

legislation will create nearly 168,000 jobs in construction, manufacturing,

and retail. The vote simply authorizes the creation of the program; it does

not appropriate the funds needed to run it. Source: Associated Press

Unmarried women accounted for 21% of home purchases in 2009, while unwed

males were 10% of the buyers, according to a National Association of

Realtors report in November. It's a dramatic shift from 1981, the first year

the numbers were tracked, when single women and men each accounted for 10%

of home sales. Single women have held steady at the 20 % mark for more than

five years, yet when the Urban Land Institute hosted its annual real-estate

conference in late April, analysts had to remind the audience to expect big

numbers from young, single female buyers. 'I've given some of my

[home-building] clients lessons on how to be gender friendly,' said Brooke

Warrick, president of the market research firm American Lives. He reminded

sellers to treat young women as viable buyers, not bystanders, by doing

something as simple as handing them a brochure when they enter a for-sale

home. These women tend to stake their claim on homes in the

1,700-square-foot range predominantly in the Washington, D.C., California

and Texas markets, Warrick said. After segmenting the market, Warrick

noticed that young women, especially those rooted in secure industries like

health care, make more money than their male peers. Source: MarketWatch

Can it be possible? Despite the housing bust and high foreclosure rates, in

some areas real estate agents are complaining that they don't have enough

homes to sell. There is currently an eight-month supply of homes on the

market, meaning that, at the current sales pace, it would take eight months

to run through the backlog. That's still a lot compared to the six-month

supply that is expected in a normal market, but it is much better than it

was. In March, there were nearly 2% fewer homes on the market than there

were a year ago, and 21.7% fewer than the record of 4.6 million in July

2008. In some areas, supplies are even bidding-war tight. In Denver, for

example, supply has fallen to 5.7 months from 6.2. In Phoenix it has

declined to 4.5 from 5.2; and in San Francisco inventory has halved, to 3.2

months from 6.5 last March. In California, almost all cities have a short

supply of single-family homes. That's especially true in the lower-priced

categories, according to Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the

California Association of Realtors. The supply of homes that sell for less

than $300,000 is at 3.2 months statewide, down from an already low 3.3 month

supply 12 months ago. Inventory of moderately priced homes, those between

$300,000 and 500,000, fell to 4.2 months in March, down from 4.5 months in

March 2009. There are plenty of more expensive homes in California, but this

inventory is going quick: inventory for million-dollar-plus homes has

dropped from 21.6 months to 10.9 months. Source: CNN/Money.com