Single-family home prices in the Providence-Fall River-New Bedford metro area rose 0.6 percent from January 2012 to January 2013, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index. more

There is a growing national trend called design-build, and in short, it is a way for building projects to be executed more quickly, with fewer surprises and thus, at a lower cost. more

Overall mortgage activity reached a five-year high in Massachusetts in 2012, with refinance mortgages dominating 83 percent of the market share, according to new data from The Warren Group’s Mortgage MarketShare Module. more

U.S. wind-power capacity grew 31 percent in 2011, accounting for 35 percent of all new electricity-generation capacity, the American Wind Energy Association said. more

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors announced that the confidence of the state’s realtors started 2013 at a five-year high, reported the Boston Business Journal. more

Fidelity Investments’ award for The Outstanding Building of the Year from The Building Owners and Managers Association in Boston is a first for a Rhode Island building since the competition began in 1985, said association spokeswoman Kayla Burmeister. more

With all the depressing reports about the “fiscal cliff” and potential rollbacks in tax benefits for homeowners, you might have missed some of the positive trends under way for real estate. more

More Americans than forecast signed contracts in March to buy previously owned homes, another indication of progress in the housing market. more

Single-family home prices in the Providence-Fall River-New Bedford metro area rose 1 percent from February 2012 to February 2013, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index. more

I have been blessed to live and work all my life in Providence and to represent this great city as mayor. Many times in the past, I have seen the city’s leaders rise to the challenge of changing economic circumstances. Often, this challenge is manifested in the plight of a landmark downtown building that is empty and seemingly without prospects. more