Vermont has many fair housing achievements under its belt but there is still more work to do, according to the recent statewide look at impediments to fair housing choice. The 2012 State of Vermont Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice identifies 12 public sector and 2 private sector impediments.
Data and Statistics
Vermont population grows slightly again in 2011
Vermont’s population continued to grow slowly in 2011, according to new estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The number of estimated Vermonters inched up by about 500 to 625,909 between 2010 and 2011.
State population growth is caused by net in-migration (i.e. more people moving in then out of a state) and by natural forces (i.e. more births than deaths among existing residents).
Foreclosure mitigation approaches assessed by GAO
The U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a comprehensive report on the effectiveness of a variety of types of foreclosure mitigation efforts. About 4 million single-family mortgages were modified in the U.S. between 2009 and 2011 to help borrowers avoid foreclosure.
Recession prompted national increase in household sharing
The number and percentage of shared households increased over the course of the recent national recession, according to a report released last month by the Census Bureau. A “shared household” is a household which includes at least one additional adult who is not a student, spouse, or partner of the primary household head.
Vermont tops list of targeting Housing Credits to most vulnerable
Yet again VHFA has topped all other states in using Housing Tax Credits – a program designed to serve low income households earning up to 60 percent of the area’s median income (AMI) – for extremely low income households earning less than 30 percent of the AMI. 65 percent of Vermont’s credits served extremely low income households, compared to a national average of just 9 percent.
Growing home size is one of many new home statistics released by Census Bureau
The average single-family house completed in the U.S. in 2011 was 2,480 square feet, compared to 2,392 the year before, according to results of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction released recently. The tidbits below as well as many other types of information about new homes are available on the U.S.
Down payment requirements often ignored in housing affordability discussions
A recent study by the mortgage risk analysis company Andrew Davidson & Company confirms what many borrowers have been experiencing first-hand during the past few years: lower mortgage interest rates do not make buying a home more affordable when significantly higher down payments are required at closing.&n
While housing market gradually recovers, severe cost burdens become entrenched
According to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies’ annual State of the Nation’s Housing report released earlier this week, 2012 is likely to mark the beginning of a true housing market recovery.
Housing Web sites get new server this week
We expect that five Vermont housing Web sites — Vermont Housing Data, the Vermont Housing Managers Association's site, Vermont Rental Codes, the Vermont Resident Services Coordinators site, and the Vermont Housing Awareness site-- might be occasionally offline this week.
We're doing some work on our Web servers, but hope to keep the down time as short as possible.