Vermont home prices reached new highs in 2018, continuing a four year trend of growth. However, household incomes have not kept pace, making it increasingly difficult for low and middle-income Vermonters to become homeowners.
Homeownership
2018 VHFA Single Family Homeownership Program Top Performers
VHFA is pleased to announce the 2018 Top Performers across the local Vermont banks, credit unions and mortgage companies who participate in the VHFA single family homeownership program. VHFA's participating lenders are essential to meeting VHFA's mission to provide homeownership opportunities for low to moderate income Vermont households.
Please join VHFA in congratulating the following organizations and individuals who originated the highest VHFA mortgage loan production volume in 2018:
New England Federal Credit Union gives $500,000 for affordable homes in Northwest Vermont
New England Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) President/CEO John J. Dwyer, Jr. announced today a $500,000 grant from NEFCU to Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) to address the area’s shortage of housing affordable to Vermonters with low and moderate incomes. The money will support construction and renovation costs for perpetually affordable homes in Bristol, Jericho and several other towns.
“This investment will help address the shortage of affordable housing in the area, which impacts not only our residents but also businesses and communities,” Dwyer remarked. “We believe that improving the affordability of homes in the counties we serve creates a cascade of benefits that help make the region more economically healthy in the long run,” he continued.
Vermont Housing Finance Agency wins national award for using state housing tax credits to help home buyers
This week Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) received national recognition for pioneering the use of state housing tax credits to provide down payment assistance to low- and moderate-income Vermonters. Since the Vermont Affordable Housing Tax Credit was originally created in 2000 to fund creating and preserving affordable apartments for low income renters, VHFA led the effort to expand it to help two more types of underserved Vermonters: first-time home buyers and buyers of energy-efficient manufactured homes.
New research shows path to affordable, sustainable homeownership
A recent report from researchers at Ohio State University and Fannie Mae describes new evidence of ways to extend homeownership sustainably. Lower income households seeking to purchase homes face many barriers including lack of wealth for down payment. Further, “after purchasing a home, lower income homeowners are often at higher risk of default due to unaffordable mortgage terms, higher loan-to-value ratios, and fragile household balance sheets,” the report notes.
Homeownership rate increases, but first-time buyers face barriers
The annual report on housing from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS) reveals that although homeownership rates are beginning to climb, young adults are finding it increasingly difficult to afford to buy their first home. The report found that from 1990 to 2016 the median home price rose 41 percent faster than overall inflation, outpacing wage growth during the same period. Homeownership rates among young adults today are lower than they were before the recession. This report comes as VHFA and many in the lending, real estate, and housing communities recognize June as national Homeownership Month.
Learn how to maintain, protect and enjoy your home!
If you own a home please join Champlain Housing Trust for this educational Homeowner University. Learn how to maximize your biggest investment, your home. Learn how to maintain, manage and protect your home and how to plan and pay for improvements. Check out the schedule for the day and enroll today!
When?
April 28, 2018 - 9:00am to 4:00pm
Where?
Champlain Housing Trust - 88 King Street, Burlington, VT
Cost?
$25 per household, includes lunch
How to register?
Vermont House approves expanding popular VHFA down payment assistance program
Last week the Vermont House approved H. 922 which includes provisions from an earlier bill (H.766) that expands VHFA’s Down Payment Assistance Program. The bill is now passed over to the Senate and earlier this week was read and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. Since the DPA program started in 2015, demand among qualified first-time home buyers has been twice what can be funded through the Vermont Affordable Housing Tax Credit, the program’s designated funding source.
House Commerce Committee approves expanding VHFA down payment assistance program
H.R. 766, the bill that includes an expansion of VHFA’s Down Payment Assistance Program, was approved by the Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development last week. Since the program started in 2015, demand among qualified first-time home buyers has been twice what can be funded through the Vermont Affordable Housing Tax Credit, the program’s designated funding source.