This past year, Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) celebrated fifty years of financing the development of affordable housing throughout Vermont. Since its inception as a quasi-governmental housing agency in 1974 a lot has changed, including Vermont's economic and housing landscape which are fundamentally tied together.
As we embark upon the next chapter as Vermont’s sole housing finance agency, we thought it would be worth taking a look back at how costs have changed, housing needs have changed, and how VHFA’s innovative work has made a measurable difference over fifty years.
It is no secret that Vermont's cost of living is significantly higher than most states. A quick look back at average costs from 1974, when VHFA began, to 2024 prove the point. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the value of one U.S. dollar today is worth 15.625% of its 1974 value. How does that translate into everyday cost of goods for Vermonters? Consider the cost of a gallon of gas in 1974 at 53 cents a gallon verses the average of $3.45 per gallon today; and the cost of home heating oil at 27.5 cents per gallon in 1974 verses an average of $3.63 per gallon today.
A small state, and one of the least populated in the U.S., Vermont’s current population, according to census statistics, is approximately 650,000 verses 473,000 in 1974. As the population has grown, and costs have increased, the need for affordable housing has escalated. In 1974, a state housing assessment called for 21,000 new or rehabilitated homes. Since then, VHFA has helped 31,000 primary first-time home buyers and their families purchase homes and provided financing, development support, subsidy administration and tax credits for approximately 9,600 affordable apartments statewide.
In 2024 alone, VHFA allocated tax credits worth $86 million for housing construction and rehabilitation; 459 VHFA-financed apartments opened for occupancy; 357 homes were purchased with VHFA programs (90% by first-time homebuyers); $10 million was awarded for rental housing for middle-income households; and 5,785 homeowners who fell behind with mortgage payments and other housing bills due to the pandemic were assisted from 2022-2024, allowing them to avoid foreclosure.
VHFA’s impact in the last half-century is significant and shows no signs of slowing down. The most recently published Housing Needs Assessment calls for 24,000-36,000 new homes by 2029. Given its history of success, experience and mission, VHFA will have a key role in helping to build and support affordable housing in innovative and transformative ways. In fact, VHFA continues to forge ahead as a financial partner on several new development projects throughout Vermont – many of which will open new doors for homebuyers and renters this year and well into the future.
For more information about VHFA, it’s diverse programs, partners, and successes, visit the VHFA website and read more about VHFA’s story, including history and housing data through the years, in VHFA’s 2024 Annual Report (PDF) published in January 2025.