If only he could turn his gavel into a magic wand, House Speaker Joe Shekarchi said he could make remarkably fast-paced progress in tackling Rhode Island’s housing crisis. Instead, without the ability to defy the iron laws of the marketplace,

The median price for a single-family home increased more than 5 percent in January to $465,000, compared to a year ago.

That's according to a new report from the Rhode Island Association of Realtors. The association found that based on January's market, all homes for sale right now will go within a month and half. Chris Whitten,