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States across the country are experiencing a housing crunch. But Vermont’s acute shortage of homes continues to stand out on the national stage. In 2024, home prices in Vermont spiked more than any other state, and the state’s per-capita rate of homelessness ranked among the highest in the nation. Meanwhile, after repeated flooding that has damaged hundreds of homes, the state must figure out how to both add to its housing stock and become better adapted to increasingly frequent floods.

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý and VTDigger’s housing reporter, Carly Berlin, has diligently covered the state’s housing crisis, breaking down its causes through explanatory reporting and highlighting the stories of Vermonters most impacted by its effects.

Included in this submission are two excerpts from an episode Carly reported for ¿ªÔÆÌåÓý’s Brave Little State podcast, investigating a question she repeatedly received from listeners: Is Vermont’s rise in homelessness due to unhoused people moving in from out-of-state, drawn by benefits programs? The show counters that oft-cited narrative with newly uncovered data and analysis. Next is an excerpt from a two-way she conducted with the state’s housing commissioner illuminating new metrics about the severity of Vermont’s housing shortage.

Last is a broadcast feature about a manufactured home community that was wiped out by flooding in 2023. Carly followed residents displaced from the park for a year to produce the story. Through public records, court documents, and on-scene reporting, she also revealed the park owner’s attempts to rebuild homes on the riverside property, a matter now the subject of an ongoing legal battle.

Supplemental links:

• While state stands up shelters, some Vermonters exit motels without a plan
• Vermont home prices spiked more than any other state last year while fewer homes sold
• Displaced by floods, Berlin manufactured home park residents seek to prevent a repeat disaster
• Is Vermont’s motel program a ‘magnetâ€� for out-of-staters experiencing homelessness?
• Vermont needs at least 24,000 more homes in the next five years, report says
• Vermont pushed hundreds of people out of motels this fall. Here’s where some ended up
• As many lose motel housing, 91 lawmakers demand more shelters, state of emergency
• State officials peg shelter cost at $3M, with large share for contract staff
• Vermont’s rate of homelessness now ranks 4th in the nation