VHFA has selected Paul Stewart, President of Stewart Property Management, Bedford, N.H., as the new owner of Rockingham Canal House in Bellows Falls.

“Paul Stewart has almost 40 years of experience in affordable housing, and he’s been managing the Canal Street building since last fall, so we’re confident he has the background and skills necessary to make this property a showpiece,” said VHFA Executive Director Sarah Carpenter.

Read more in our press release (PDF).

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) (formerly the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight [OFHEO]) announced its first quarter 2009 home sale appreciation index in May.

This is a good data source because it measures true appreciation — meaning same house price changes — instead of tracking median sales prices.

Vermont

The Shelburne Development Review Board has granted preliminary approval to Shelburnewood.

That proposed housing project, which we told you about earlier this week, would replace the Shelburnewood Mobile Home Park with a mix of affordable, work-place and market-rate housing.

The Board's 6-1 vote means project planners can move ahead to more detailed plans.

If the project is realized, it'll eventually include 270 units on 27 acres, built over the course of 10 years. Half of those units would house the elderly.

VHFA Executive Director Sarah Carpenter joined Mike McNamara, Vermont Field Office Director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on cable access's "Vermont Housing and Communities" show earlier this month.

Universal Mortgage Corp.'s Kelly Deforge joined the discussion on options for first-time homebuyers as part of National Homeownership Month.

Mike's program runs live the first Wednesday of every other month at 5:25 p.m. on Channel 17/ Town Meeting Television carried on Comcast Cable and Burlington Telecom systems. It's repeated throughout the month.