A Vermont household renting outside of the Burlington metropolitan area needs to earn at least $16.91 to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment, according to the latest "Out of Reach" report released by the National Low-Income Housing Coalition.

Compared to the combined non-metropolitan areas of other states, this ranks Vermont 8th highest in the U.S. Vermont’s combined non-metropolitan area consists of all counties in the state except Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle.

The "Out of Reach" report is a side-by-side comparison of wages and rents in every county, metropolitan area, combined non-metropolitan area, and state in the country.

Lori Gilding was the second winner in VHFA’s “Five-Week Wellness Challenge.”

Lori was selected at random from all staff members who participated in Week #2 of the challenge to receive a gift certificate from Ski Rack.

The challenge is a progressive fitness program that encourages staff members to make small improvements to their health each week. For this week — Week #3 — staff are encouraged to get up and get moving, drink more water, and ... eat healthier snacks.

Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) and HowardCenter will rehabilitate a property on Burlington's St. Paul Street to provide housing for 16 residents living at Lakeview, a property on North Avenue recently sold by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vermont to Burlington College.

Permits from the City of Burlington have been approved and work began last week.

HowardCenter will provide the same services at the new location as it did at Lakeview.

Homeownership rates in the United States, especially among younger households, have been declining since their peak in 2004, according to recent analysis by the National Home Builder's Association.

VHFA wondered whether Vermont was experiencing the same decline.

We weren't able to look at homeownership rates by age, but instead charted Vermont's overall homeownership rate compared to the national. Interestingly, the U.S. Census Bureau surveys show no statistically significant decline in Vermont.