A new federal report shows Vermont is the top state, per capita, for its use of Federal Historic Tax Credits to rehabilitate historic buildings.

Regardless of population, the Green Mountain State is number 10 in the country, up from number 12 a year ago.

Over the last decade, the tax credits have been responsible in Vermont for rehabilitation of everything from small storefronts to major downtown redevelopments.

Last fiscal year, 34 rehab projects in Vermont received $4.6 million in federal tax credits. The properties had a total construction value of more than $23 million.

More than 200,000 affordable homes will result from the nearly $14 billion the U.S. Department of Treasury invested in the nation's housing finance agencies (HFAs) Tuesday.

The department's purchase of housing bonds is part of the Obama Administration's Housing Finance Agency Initiative, an element of its Making Home Affordable program.

The HFA Initiative is expected to come at no cost to taxpayers.

Four Vermont affordable housing developments will install solar water heating systems, thanks to $500,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Applegate Apartments, Bennington; Highgate Apartments, Barre; Salmon Run, Burlington; and Westgate Apartments, Brattleboro (pictured), will install the systems, which will supply 50 percent of the hot water demands of 1,000 residents.

The announcement was made yesterday by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Champlain Housing Trust.

Home prices in Vermont are stabilizing, and will continue to become more stable in 2010. That was the message the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Lawrence Yun (pictured) delivered when he addressed the Northwestern Vermont Board of Realtors yesterday.