Housing starts in the U.S. surged 15 percent in September to the highest level in four years, adding to signs of a revival in the industry at the heart of the financial crisis. more

New U.S. home construction rose in February and building permits climbed to the highest level in almost five years, adding to signs of progress in the housing market that’s helping boost the economy. more

Rhode Island single-family home sales rose 7 percent in April compared with the same period last year, the Rhode Island Association of Realtors said Thursday. more

Employees at Embrace Home Loans in Newport again continued the company’s tradition of assembling Thanksgiving baskets for those in need during the holiday. more

With 30-year mortgage rates hitting new lows and recent borrowers’ payment performance the best by far in decades, you’d think that banks and other lenders might be loosening up on their hyper-strict underwriting standards. more

Despite signs of a real estate recovery, vacant and abandoned properties threaten to keep many capital city neighborhoods hopelessly behind the curve. To understand just how bad the problem is, consider this: A proposed ordinance designed to put some teeth into efforts to clean up such nuisance properties has the public backing of Mayor Angel Taveras and the entire 15-member City Council even before it comes to an expected vote in September! more

Patrick Boris, a banquet chef in Las Vegas, is inching closer to his own “fiscal cliff,” 2,100 miles away from the political brinksmanship under way on Capitol Hill. If Congress and the White House allow the country to go over the cliff, Boris figures he could owe federal income taxes on more than $100,000 in forgiven mortgage debt following the short sale of his two-bedroom townhome next year – a personal financial “disaster,” in his words. more

More than 100 Rhode Island residents, business owners, state officials, local planners and lawmakers gathered at the Statehouse on Thursday night to kick off RhodeMap RI, a year-long project to create statewide economic development and housing plans that link with strategies for future development, transportation, land use and the environment. more

Single-family home sales in Bristol County, Mass. rose 13 percent in February compared with the same period the previous year, The Warren Group said Tuesday. more

Are some appraisers failing to see the improvements in real estate values under way in local markets that have recently bottomed out and turned positive? When multiple bids push a house price thousands of dollars above what the seller is asking – not unusual in neighborhoods where demand is particularly robust – are appraisers still coming in with values below the agreed-upon contract number? more