Should it be "there is a variety of homes" instead?

[Torsten]

“A variety of” is a similar construction to “a number of” and they both should be treated as a plural:

There are vs. there is a number of

The most used form seems to be ‘there are a number of (things, people etc.)’. However, I occasionally come across ‘there is a number of…’, which I personally find more logical, since ‘number’ is a singular noun. Any comment, anyone? Thank you.