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. 

Last week, the federal government passed an omnibus bill funding the government for FY 2018.  Funding for housing and homeless assistance programs exceeded what housing advocates had anticipated. Among the spending is a substantial boost to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, which will see an increase of 12.5% to the annual state per capita credit allocation for the next four years. In addition, the bill contains $11.15 billion for project-based rental assistance, an increase of $50 million from FY 2017. These funding increases will be extremely helpful in VHFA’s efforts to expand access to decent, affordable housing.

For the third year in a row, VHFA was ranked in the top five Best Places to Work among small sized organizations across the state by Vermont Business Magazine. After receiving the honor of the number one spot in 2016, VHFA was ranked fourth for 2017, and has just been ranked second for 2018.

“This award reflects the excellence of our wonderful staff and their deep commitment to our mission of promoting affordable housing opportunities for Vermonters,” remarked Sarah Carpenter, VHFA Executive Director. “Their dedication and enthusiasm is what makes VHFA a great place to work.”

In January, Vermont Housing Finance Agency was instrumental in the sale of nearly $37 million in Vermont Property Transfer Tax Revenue Bonds. Proceeds from these bonds, sold as sustainability bonds due to their intended use, support the Housing for All initiative to construct and preserve affordable housing across Vermont. Project development is underway. Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) has already awarded proceeds from the housing bonds to 15 planned affordable housing projects.