Providence, Rhode Island is not just a city with a lot of post-secondary education institutes and health care complexes; it's also a member of an elite subgroup of American cities that have undergone a true real estate renaissance. Once suffering from urban decay and a loss of population to other cities in New England, this historic city is up and coming once more, with a vast array of houses and condominiums you would be proud to trade your Mississauga real estate for. Whether you're a first time home buyer looking to make your start in Providence, a college student moving away from home for the first time, or a retiree seeking a place to live in one of the nation's oldest cities, use this real estate guide as your starting point.

For a city that's only about 18 square miles, Providence has a very high population: over 170,000. The demand for space makes most of the housing in the city high-density, in other words: there's a lot of condominium high rises and apartment buildings like you would find in Downtown Toronto real estate. There are some single family homes in the city, of course, but they tend to be older, built during a time when the city wasn't so densely populated. Architectural styles in Providence represent a cross-section of what was popular during the boom days of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the renaissance days of the 1980s and later. Among the popular styles are Federal, Victorian, and Art Deco.

Providence's neighborhoods, of which there are 25, developed gradually on an as-needed basis, unlike the new pre-planned developments that make up Richmond Hill real estate. As the city's population grew, so did its borders, with the invention of the electric streetcar making it possible for commuters to own homes and work downtown. Neighborhoods tend to be divided on the basis of housing style and the income bracket of the residents. This range runs from Blackstone in the northeast, which has an average income half again as high as the city average, to Olneyville in the center, which is one of the oldest and poorest neighborhoods in the city.

The recession, which has made it a great time to buy real estate, whether it's a condo in Providence or a house for sale in Mississauga, has dropped the overall listing prices in Providence, though not to such rock-bottom levels as some of the suburban boom towns in California. Homes in Providence are listing around $327,000 as of September 2009, with an average price per square foot of $71. Some of the more popular and expensive neighborhoods, such as Mount Pleasant and College Hill, have actually experienced an upswing in their fortunes as of late, so we can postulate that Providence's market is beginning to mend. Compared to other cities in New England, like Boston, Portsmouth, and Augusta, we can see that Providence is listing generally lower but managing to hold its own. It's a great time to buy a new home. Ontario homes would definitely sell high enough to net you an upgrade here.