|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
by Jennifer Dawson
Vermont needs to build between 24,000 to 36,000 new homes to meet estimated demand over the next five years, a new Vermont Housing Needs Assessment completed by the Vermont Housing Finance Agency reveals.
The state’s steadily increasing population — although in some ways very much a positive development — is a key reason for increased pressure on the housing market.
Fortunately, efforts are being made to boost Vermont’s housing construction. For example, State Treasurer Mike Pieciak recently allocated $55.5 million in a housing investment that aims to build over 1,100 homes statewide.
Rising population puts pressure on the market
Vermont’s population has experienced steady growth in recent years, which has blocked some low-income and unstably-housed people from renting or buying within the state. Notably, the number of people in Vermont without homes has increased by around 18.5% since 2022, and as much as tripled since 2019, the new assessment reveals.
In terms of population growth, a net 3,000 people moved to the state in 2022, and that’s on top of a net of more than 14,000 people who previously moved here in 2021. Additionally, in 2023, 65% of moves to Vermont were inbound, which means more people moved in than out.
“The combined net migration from the last two years exceeds the net migration from the prior ten years combined”, the State Treasurer’s Office noted in a 2023 report.
“People are moving here,” said department Commissioner Alex Farrell. “We were begging them for years and years, and then during [2020 and onwards], they started moving here. … but we’re not ready for people to be here and to come. We don’t have homes for them, and it’s squeezing out the most vulnerable people.”
Remote workers are choosing Vermont
“Thanks in part to the flexibility of remote work, Vermont continues to be a desirable destination for those seeking a better quality of life,” Pieciak said. Indeed, work-life balance is a top priority for young adults (namely, the millennial aged between late 20s to early 30s), who typically move home more frequently than other generations. This, in turn, has fueled the popularity of remote work as young adults look to build their careers from the home base of their choosing.
As Vermont is big on outdoor recreation and offers beautiful scenery, along with a slower pace of life, it’s not hard to understand why it’s an attractive destination for remote workers looking to make a life change.
In an effort to boost housing supply for Vermont residents, the state has so far spent $500 million on housing initiatives pegged for completion next year. Bills have also been passed to make it easier to construct homes.
For example, zoning restrictions have been slackened and the state’s land use law (Act 250) has been modified to allow the development of new housing. “However, other hurdles for private development, like the rising cost of construction, is largely out of our hands in Vermont,” said Farrell.
Low vacancy rates push prices up
But population growth isn’t the only thing responsible for lack of housing in the state. Vermont also has extremely low vacancy rates, which are a problem. In Chittenden County, for example, vacancy rates are 1%, whereas they drop to 0.5% in Burlington.
Low vacancy rates mean houses are scarce, prices get pushed up, and it becomes harder for people to buy or rent. For reference, the average median sale price of a home in Vermont is $411,500, and so buyers need to save $41,150 for a 10% down payment. The average price of single-family homes also increased by 38% between 2019-2023, according to the new report.
Additionally, in 2021, over 30% renters could afford to purchase a median-priced home, but this dropped to just 6% in 2023.
“This shows how important it is to address Vermont’s housing shortage. It’s not just holding back the full potential of our economy, it’s also worsening social issues like homelessness”, said Pieciak. “It is why our office has prioritized housing as our top economic issue, and we’re eager to work with stakeholders to find creative solutions to our housing shortage to support a more prosperous future for all Vermonters.”
Discover more from Vermont Daily Chronicle
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categories: Housing
Not the homes the State wants to build… not for me… too electrified and EMF’d for this biological human…unless they are trying to kill me.
Oh.
Wait.
Every factor concerning Vermont’s housing shortage can be traced back to legislative action and inaction. Every factor.
The complexity of myriad regulations from Stormwater, wastewater to ACT 250,
local zoning, regional planning commissions- then municipal requirements, banking and insurance requirements- everything down to how the heating system shall be installed- all started somewhere- that somewhere is the Vermont Legislature.
Affordability is the most campaigned topic. That’s every politicians goal. Old story. VERMONTERS need well paying jobs to afford the ever rising inflation. We need to attract employers like IBM, Raytheon Co.,General Electric and more military contract jobs as well as scientific laboratories. When a state has high paying jobs that local colleges prepare the workforce for, there is more affordability. VT can keep throwing time,money and energy at programs for the poor, but until we get away from 1990’s pay rates, don’t expect Vermonters to keep up with our neighboring states. Politicians, bring some high paying jobs to Vermont!
Man, I’m old enough to remember when VT was PAYING people $10k/yr to move to the state…
While forgetting about those who were already here struggling to stay.
This scam is pushing more debt bonding. Watch the bond markets and soon you may get a big surprise.
Good luck. Act 250 will drive up the cost if they can even get the permit to build them.
The first thing you need to do is not enter into a contract for a permit. Only a fool would allow another group of crooks to control the use of their property. This is like paying off a mafia and they keep raising the bribe every year.
Anybody know why we need so much housing? We are a sanctuary state, we most likely have an abundance of illegals, using our tax money, and benefits, raising our taxes, health care, and home prices.
This is to expand the affordable housing grift. Apartments for the new imported workers, subsidized via permits, permit changes, subsidized rent, etc.
You will own nothing and be happy.
This has nothing to do with creating affordable homes for Vermonters, that wouldn’t cost money, they only need to allow us. It’s not permitted.
Thank Goodness the Amish came in and bought several old farms in Coventry and Newport Ctr. That’ll take several hundred acres of land out of the housing market for a long time. I prefer dealing with their buggies on the road than peoples cars
I think that there has to be an acceptance of cluster housing, multi family housing, infill within city and town centers etc. Far too many on the right, and many who comment here are adverse to any of this, demanding that new homes must be built only on large tracts of land. Due to land costs this automatically increases the purchase price of any home built. We also can’t continue to keep plopping single family homes on ten plus acres all over the state.
No one is going to make you move from your rural spread, other than if property taxes make it so you can’t afford it. But how about recognizing that not everyone who would benefit from affordable housing is a drug addicted homeless person? Our children and grandchildren need affordable housing. Elderly people need affordable housing. And given the small household size of most Vermonters, small homes and apartments are desperately needed. As well, many older Vermonters are rattling around in enormous homes that they don’t need but have no where’s else to move to and still remain in their community.
I wish conservatives would stop looking at this as a communist plot to make them all live in town and just recognize that VT needs a variety of housing options to meet the needs of Vermonters.
“Far too many on the right, and many who comment here are adverse to any of this, demanding that new homes must be built only on large tracts of land.”
Your argument is invalid, as Act 250 was the driver of 10 acre lots for decades. All of the grievances you cite are directly linked to legislation and regulation derived from the maze of rules surrounding Act 250. Somehow, the free market provided real estate and homes for decades until government wanted in. Even now, to build the “small homes and apartments” you write of, a myriad of regulation must be navigated before the first shovel can be used. “government” benevolently bestows help for certain projects, stymies others. Using the real definition of fascism, Vermont’s government has created a fascist system for housing. Talk your way out of that statement, please.
@ Frank
Just look back at articles posted on VDC related to affordable housing and you will find a myriad of comments basically saying you will have to pry my acreage from my cold dead hands/would rather live in an outhouse than in town etc etc. But I have no argument whatsoever that Act 250, the permitting process, land use regs etc have made it onerous and expensive to build in VT. And yes, it’s generally the left that love regs.
This cluster housing is all part of Agenda 21, 2030, there is nothing environmental about it, nothing home grown, this is handed to us from the united nations. It’s not even good common sense, they are building and expanding in flood prone areas, no developer would do that on their own.
We have so much buildable land, we have so much good septic technology, people don’t want to allow small homes, because they can make $500/sq. ft for buildings, when the average person can build for $250/sq ft for less.
It’s all charade, a money grift. If you are connected it’s a great gravy train.
Our problem is completely caused by Montpelier, completely. And to make things worse, it wasn’t even their ideas, they are owned by lobbyists hiding behind a non-profit status….VNRC and VPIRG are two that come to mind. More power than the governor. Not elected.
@ Neil
I don’t think you actually know what cluster housing is. It has zilch to do with putting homes in flood plains . Cluster housing essentially means taking a piece of land and building a “cluster” of generally smaller homes together. They are often built around a shared courtyard/garden/park with benches and paths etc. Parking is generally relegated to one area behind the homes. Depending on the community there can be garden spaces, a playground or even farming on the unused land. This type of housing works really well for a variety of demographics including young families with children and older adults as they have neighbors nearby. Sometimes houses are 2-3 family or have ADU’s. Some of these in the US but especially in Europe are co-housing developments. It’s a great way to live. I was very interested in this when I had a young child but it was still pretty new in the US and tended to be expensive. It actually should drive costs down for home construction due to the clustering of homes and thus utilities, water/wastewater lines etc.
The biggest problem, besides a lack of knowledge as to what cluster housing actually is, is land use/zoning/permitting issues and neighborhood opposition. The Montpelier NIMBY’s successfully fought a proposed cluster housing project and it got abandoned and the land is being used to plop more expensive McMansions, each on a piece of acreage on.
Please check out what cluster housing actually is and don’t believe the propaganda against it; it really isn’t a communist plot!