We've changed the focus of one of the workshops coming up at the Vermont Statewide Housing Conference:

"Challenging Changes for Housing" will still cover the Challenges for Change legislation, but will no longer focus on Washington County.

The Associated Press reports that, as of last month, approximately 680,000 of homeowners who entered the federal government's mortgage relief program, have been disqualified. That's 51% of all participants, up from 48% the previous month.

Those figures, released by the U.S. Treasury Department yesterday, might reflect the complex nature of fixing the nation's housing crisis.

Formerly foreclosed upon, newly renovated homes might sit vacant as a result of stricter credit standards following the foreclosure crisis. That's the concern reflected in a survey conducted by NeighborWorks at a recent meeting in Philadelphia.

Two dozen non-profit organizations representing $740 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds were polled.