The recent annual report on rental housing from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) has found that although the national demand for rental housing has decreased slightly overall, there is still significant need for housing affordable to low-income renters.
Economy
How will federal tax reform affect Vermonters?
VHFA's Sarah Carpenter and Maura Collins talked with reporters this week about likely impacts of the many provisions related to housing included in the federal tax reform bill passed this week.
VAHC: House and Senate Tax Bills Will Decimate Affordable Housing In Vermont
The Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (VAHC), a state leader in housing policy, research and advocacy, issued the following statement last week on the tax bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and under consideration in the Senate:
At a time when Vermont already has a shortage of 10,866 affordable homes for extremely low income renters and the 5th highest affordability gap for renters in the country, the pending tax proposals would eliminate tax credits and financing tools that have helped create thousands of affordable apartments in our state and made homeownership more affordable for thousands of Vermonters.
House Tax Bill ‘Would Have Devastating Impact on Affordable Housing in New England’
From the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition -
Progress update on first year of Building Homes Together campaign
Vermont Governor Phil Scott joined legislative and housing leaders in a press conference last week to update the public on the first year progress of the Building Homes Together campaign.
Goal
In an effort to increase the availability of affordable homes in Vermont, Champlain Housing Trust teamed up with Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission and Housing Vermont to set a goal of 3,500 new homes within 5 years, with 20% of them being permanently affordable.
Home prices rise for northern Vermont counties through June 2017
In each of Vermont's northernmost counties, the median price of homes sold during the first half of 2017 was more than 10% higher than a decade earlier, according to our recent analysis of VT Tax Department data on non-vacation homes.
Home price data through June 2017 for every town and county in the state was recently added to the Vermont Housing Data website's community profiles.
Chittenden County led the state with a 20% increase during the decade, bringing the median price there among all non-vacation homes to $287,000. In contrast, Windham and Bennington counties experienced price declines during the decade of 12% and 10%, respectively.
Governor signs bill to promote economic development
Governor Phil Scott signed S. 135 last week, a bill to encourage economic growth and affordable housing. Although the law was signed on June 8, 2017, portions of the bill are effective on date of enactment of the FY 2018-2019 budget. Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce (pictured), also on VHFA's Board of Commissioners, was one of the bill signing speakers.
Among other things, the bill makes development in state-designated centers faster and more affordable by increasing the downtown tax credits by $200,000, exempting housing projects from Act 250 review and enabling six new Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts.
$35 million bond would have long-lasting benefits
Housing developers, business leaders, smart growth policy experts and poverty advocates joined together to support the passage of a $35 million housing bond this afternoon at a press conference at Vermont’s State House in Montpelier.
Recommended in Governor Scott's budget proposal, the housing bond would address a significant need for affordable housing in Vermont, help to alleviate homelessness, house the workforce, and provide expanded homeownership opportunities for Vermonters.
Strength of VHFA bonds prompts Moody's to upgrade rating to Aa2
Strong financial performance contributed to a rating upgrade to Aa2 for VHFA's multiple purpose bonds from Moody's Investors Service last week. The rating applies to new multiple purpose bonds and all outstanding long-term debt under the multiple purpose bond program.
"The Aa2 long-term rating reflects the strong financial position of the Multiple Purpose Bond program as well as the Agency's decision to primarily originate mortgage backed securities, sound legal structure, cash flow projections that exhibit sufficient reserves to pay timely debt service and management oversight" explained Moody's March 1, 2017 Credit Opinion.