The "E" of HOMES (4)
I believe the answer is:
erie
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">the e of homes</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this in another clue)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is the entire clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for erie that I've seen before include "N. American lake" , "Buffalo's lake" , "Great lake in Eire" , "A Great American lake - sounds spooky" , "The lake sounds weird" .)