Vermont Cost Increase Slows, But Families Still Burdened, Report Says

摘要

While Vermont didn't have the double-digit percentage increases in housing costs in 2007 that characterized much of the past decade, costs are still rising, and thousands of families are hard-pressed to pay them, said the Vermont Housing Council in its annual update on housing. The council is responsible for coordinating and overseeing state housing policy. The median purchase price of a home used as a primary residence in Vermont reached $201,000 last year, up 2 percent from the previous year and 101 percent since 1996, the baseline year for the annual report. The report estimates that a Vermont household would need an annual income of $65,000, as well as $14,000 in cash to cover closing costs and a 5 percent down payment, to buy a home. Sixty-five percent of Vermont's households have incomes below $65,000, according to the report.