Women take home improvement into their own hands

Women are muscling into what was once the male-dominated realm of home improvement. They're refinishing cabinets, making mosaic tabletops and buying spackling compound. And companies are noticing.

According to Home Depot, 55 percent of purchases at the stores are made by women.

In addition, women did 30 percent of projects in a 2003 study that asked families about undertakings such as remodeling a bathroom, painting a house or building a deck or patio, according to the Home Improvement Research Institute.

Women are picking up tools, many for the first time, for a variety of reasons. Eighteen percent of all homes sold in 2004 were sold to single women, according to the National Association of Realtors. Homeowners typically embark on home-improvement projects after buying their homes.

And even if there is a man in the house, that doesn't mean he'll want to do the work.

Stella Gonzalez's husband is a trucker and wasn't around to tile the entryway to their home, so she did it herself.

Loretta Bryce's husband doesn't mind the leaves in their driveway. But they drive her crazy, so she straps on the leaf blower and takes care of them herself.

It's getting easier to do jobs like that, she says: "The tools are easier to operate. A lot of them are more lightweight."

Men are actually doing less, with the percentage doing projects themselves dropping from 43 percent in 1999 to 38 percent in 2003, according to the institute. But that's probably because baby boomers are hiring professionals as they get older, not turning their tool belts over to their wives, Johnston says.

But even if women aren't doing the work, they're coming up with the project ideas. Women initiate more project ideas themselves than men: 43 percent compared with 38 percent.

Some women are inspired by the decorating and home-makeover shows that have exploded on cable television.

Denise Ferriera watches the DIY network, a channel with shows that range from how to build a log cabin to how to use a circular saw.

"They have everything," Ferriera says excitedly. "They have all kinds of gardening and home-improvement shows. It gives you ideas about what might be possible and shows you how to do it yourself."

And even if the project goes on the husband's "honey-do" list, women are buying more of the supplies needed to do the projects.

"The husband sends you down to do the errands," says Home Depot shopper Mary Winters. "I come here a lot for him when he's in the middle of something, like if he's painting and he needs rollers."

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.