The Board of Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA) announced today the selection of Maura Collins of Essex Junction for the position of Executive Director. Collins will step into her new role on the first of the year when Sarah Carpenter, the agency's Executive Director for the past 20 years, retires. Since joining VHFA in 2002, Collins has held several positions at the agency, most recently as Deputy Director.

After an extensive national search, with over 45 applicants, the Board unanimously approved Collins.

HUD announced last week that it will extend the multifamily risk-sharing initiative with the Federal Financing Bank for VHFA and other eligible U.S. housing finance agencies (HFAs). Created in 2015, this initiative has provided much-needed access for HFAs to the U.S. Treasury’s Federal Financing Bank.

In Vermont, this initiative has helped fund the development of 665 safe, affordable apartments for low income households in 6 communities: Colchester, Rutland, Bennington, Burlington, South Burlington and Bristol.  Financing via this initiative is pending for another 230 apartments in Vermont.  

Don't miss your chance to get the discounted early bird rate by registering for the Vermont Statewide Housing Conference by Friday, October 5.   

This year’s conference will focus on Vermont communities and how they can impact housing affordability. In addition to hearing from national and state leaders, this conference offers an exciting menu of specialized, interactive workshops focusing on tools and best practices for municipalities, case studies and connections between housing and big-impact issues such as health care, opioids and schools.

A recent article in the Burlington Free Press highlights Vermont’s stagnating household incomes, raising concerns over the strength of its economy and the ability of its residents to afford housing.

UVM economics professor Art Woolf writes that according to the 2017 estimates recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Vermont’s median household income is $57,513, ranking it 27^th in the country. However, the Vermont household median income actually decreased by 2.4 percent from 2016, just as the national median household income increased by 2.5 percent.