Could we be looking at an early spring this year – not in meteorological terms but real estate? Could the chilly December to February months, which traditionally see fewer buyers out shopping for houses compared with the warmer months that follow, be more active than usual? And if so, what does this mean to you as a potential home seller or buyer? more

BOSTON – A new Massachusetts law signed by Gov. Deval L. Patrick this month will expand consumer protections against foreclosure. more

Bill Bohmbach, founder and president of Portsmouth-based Home Healthsmith, recently earned the National Association of Home Builders’ certified aging-in-place specialist designation. Bohmbach has more than 30 years of experience in adaptive-mobility equipment and previously served in the Navy as an electrician. He founded Accurate Elevator and Lift in 1994, which he sold in 2010 to a major international elevator company. Bohmbach is currently pursuing his certification for home modifications through the University of Southern California. more

If you’re one of the millions of homeowners and renters who work or run a business from the place you live, here’s some good news on taxes: The Internal Revenue Service wants to make it easier for you to file for deductions on the business-related use of your home. more

Although it wasn’t a total win for homeowners and sellers, the patchwork legislation that emerged from the “fiscal cliff” fracas on Capitol Hill came pretty close. In fact, it even reached back and resuscitated two key tax benefits for housing that had expired more than a year ago. Now homeowners will be able to take deductions on their upcoming 2012 tax returns that they assumed were no longer available. more

Providence communities lost more than $200 million in wealth due to the foreclosure crisis in 2012, according to the “Wasted Wealth” report from the Alliance for a Just Society. more

You’ve probably seen the reverse-mortgage pitchmen at work on your TV screen – former Sen. Fred Thompson and actors Robert Wagner and Henry “Fonzie” Winkler prominent among them – urging seniors to pull cash out of their homes through a loan program guaranteed by the federal government. more

Rhode Island’s weak economy and sluggish housing market are not keeping Westerly-based Washington Trust Bancorp Inc. from continuing its momentum of increased earnings, as the parent of The Washington Trust Co. reaped the benefits of its strategic expansion into healthier markets in Massachusetts and Connecticut. more

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Lender Processing Services Inc. last week reached a multistate settlement to resolve claims of improper foreclosure practices, including the “robosigning” of documents used to repossess homes, Bloomberg News reported. more

Home prices rose in the 12 months through March by the most in seven years as the recovery in residential real estate gained momentum. more