Home prices rose in the top 20 metro areas by 13.6 percent in the past year, according to the latest SP/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. Jon Chesto Managing Editor, Print- Boston Business Journal Email  | Twitter  | Google+ With all Continue reading >>>

Kevin Murphy, of Quincy, went sledding with his daughter, Elizabeth Murphy, of Daytona Beach, at Presidents Golf Course on Thursday. It was the the first time Elizabeth had ever seen snow.

The first major snowstorm of 2014 has intensified, prompting the National Weather Service this afternoon to expand its blizzard warning to the South and North Shore where some towns have already received 8 inches of snow, an amount that could reach 24 inches in spots before the storm fades away mid-morning on Friday. In an updated weather message posted shortly after 4 p.m., the weather service said that residents of Essex County and all of Plymouth County should now be prepared for the mixture of high winds, blowing snow and dangerously cold temperatures predicted originally for just parts Continue reading >>>

This post is sponsored by Nickerson PR, a full-service communications firm offering an integrated blend of public relations and marketing.  Our team is leading the charge in fostering powerful connections between businesses and their clients, and people and their world.  Boston is experiencing an urban transformation. As our population and industries transform and expand, so does the city itself. From the Seaport to Dudley Square and from Lovejoy Wharf to Watertown, every inch of Greater Boston is booming with construction projects modernizing the cityscape. 2013 was a big year for building Continue reading >>>

Many communities in and around the Greater Boston area have declared snow emergencies that act as parking bans on main arterial roads. Here is a list of those of communities: Arlington Belmont Boston Braintree Brookline Cambridge Chelsea Dedham Everett Malden Medford Melrose Milton Newton Quincy Revere Somerville Waltham Watertown Winthrop Woburn For a current list of school closings, click here. Send any updates to Garrett Quinn. Continue reading >>>

Ryan Sexton, 5, of Ipswich, all rosy cheeked from freezing temps, sledded down the front hill of his house with his sister Morgan, 7, in Ipswich, where 24 inches of snow fell, one of the highest counts in the region.

Foundation announces first set of 2013-14 grants from Food and Fuel Fund, encourages donors to act Boston – The Boston Foundation, Greater Boston’s community foundation, today announced more than $200,000 in grants to local organizations that provide urgent winter assistance to Massachusetts residents. The grants come from the Foundation’s Food and Fuel Fund, a cooperative effort of the Boston Foundation and its donors to specifically support those organizations providing food, fuel, housing and other much-needed services to citizens in need. “We hope these grants, made possible by the Continue reading >>>

Everything's been updated in the building's three units, so there's that. More importantly, perhaps, is its location: right near Tufts and not far from Davis Square and its T stop. Speaking of the T! Seventy-eight Raymond also resides near a future stop on the Green Line, once SomerVision is seen through to completion. Finally, all three leases in the triple-decker are up for renewal in August. Rent hikes, anyone? So, yes, from an investor's standpoint, not terrible. Yours for $799,000. · Listing: 78 Raymond Avenue [Keller Williams] · SomerVision Sees 6,000 New Homes, Lots of Green Line Continue reading >>>

In practical terms, what does that mean? If your household income is $100,000 or less, that means a home-buying budget that tops out at $300,000.Don't get taken in by blather about low interest rates and how you can afford to buy more home than you would have a few years ago. Instead, those low rates are helping inflate the prices of homes across the board, so you are effectively spending more money to buy the same house. Check out this Wall Street Journal piece, which asked financial planners to give advice to home buyers looking to jump into the market in 2014. Too often real estate agents are Continue reading >>>

In the wider Greater Boston area, 2013 will be remembered as the year in which our sense of security would be shaken by an attack on one of our most treasured local events, the Boston Marathon, which left four people dead and dozens of others seriously injured. As with most other Massachusetts cities and towns, Marblehead had residents who were profoundly, personally affected by the bombings. The brother of Marblehead resident Jacie Clowery, Jarrod, can be seen in a photo near the Marathon finish line, near where one of the bombs was detonated. Also in the photo are bombing Continue reading >>>