BOSTON — House Speaker Robert DeLeo is laying out his plans for a minimum wage hike in Massachusetts. In a speech to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Thursday, the Winthrop Democrat called for a gradual increase in the state’s minimum wage from $8 per hour to $10.50 in 2016. That would be the highest minimum wage in the country, but not as high as the $11 per hour wage approved by the state Senate last fall. That could lead to conflict between the two chambers. The Senate bill — and a separate ballot question slated for November — would make future increases automatic: Continue reading >>>

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By Joshua Miller, Globe Staff Massachusetts House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo today proposed incrementally raising the state’s minimum wage from $8 an hour to $10.50 an hour by the middle of 2016, brightening prospects for a wage hike to become law this year. At a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce event, the powerful Winthrop Democrat outlined his chamber’s plan for boosting the state’s hourly wage floor: $9 at the beginning of July this year, $10 in 2015, and $10.50 in 2016. DeLeo also proposed raising the minimum wage for tipped workers from its current level of $2.63 Continue reading >>>

Massachusetts House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo today proposed incrementally raising state’s minimum wage from $8 an hour to $10.50 an hour by the middle of 2016, setting up a potential showdown with the state Senate, which passed a larger hike late last year. At a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce event, the powerful Winthrop Democrat outlined his chamber’s plan for incrementally boosting the state’s hourly wage floor: $9 at the beginning of July this year, $10 in 2015, and $10.50 in 2016. Continue reading below DeLeo proposed incrementally raising the minimum wage for tipped workers from Continue reading >>>

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Meanwhile, only 8 percent of Boston area renters want to buy in the next year, compared to 10 percent nationally. By contrast, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Miami have the highest percentage of renters looking to buy. Rising prices and a growing dearth of homes to actually look at are two likely suspects here. But Zillow is not the only one picking up on some increasingly negative vibes coming from home buyers as the spring market gets ready to kick off. Only 25 percent of house hunters across the country think it is a good time to buy now, compared to 40 percent last year, Redfin reports. OK, Continue reading >>>

That takes off the pressure to line up a house in a hyper competitive market, racing against the clock so you have a place to move into before the sale of your home closes.And it might not necessarily be a money loser, especially if have a great rate on your mortgage and live in a market like Greater Boston, where rents have been relentlessly rising. Here's what one agent had to say about this trend in a Redfin blog post that details the survey. I've cut and pasted an excerpt. "Many of my homebuying clients refinanced and locked in a very low mortgage rate in recent years," said Redfin Continue reading >>>

Anywhere there is between a one and one-and-a-half month supply of condos is a "OMG" market. An OMG market is like noticing that the gas light in your car is on, but the needle isn't quite straddling E. Any decent condo in an OMG market is sure to get multiple offers, but buyers in OMG markets have hope. It might be hope like Big Papi coming up in the bottom of the ninth with the Sox down by three, but it's hope. A WTF market, however, is a completely different beast altogether. That's survival mode. It's more than outwitting, outplaying, and outlasting the competition. It's mano-a-mano, Continue reading >>>

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory to go into effect tonight, Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 10 p.m. We are expecting rain to overspread the Greater Boston area around 5 p.m. this afternoon along with some patchy fog. The plain rain should giveway to rain and sleet between 3am and 4am, then rain, snow, and sleet after 4am. The temperature is expected to drop to a low of around 18 degrees which could cause a 'flash freeze' situation where water ponding on the roadways could quickly turn to ice. Gusty winds will also be a factor with this storm with wind gusts as Continue reading >>>

The National Weather Forecast is calling for a mix of rain and snow through Wednesday and into Thursday. Today will be dry and mild, but a strong low pressure system will track across southern New England on Wednesday and into early Thursday. Heavy rain will be the primary precipitation across Greater Boston. Far northwest Mass. and southern New Hampshire could experience a period of heavy snow and freezing rain. Most locations will end as a bit of snow on Thursday morning. Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 53. West wind 11 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Tonight: Mostly Continue reading >>>