Submitted by twentiesforever t3_10wm8vs in vermont
thisoneisnotasbad t1_j7ozj0m wrote
Lots of people in this thread who are from out of state and now realize they can’t buy due to the shortage so they are looking to turn VT into wherever they came from by building new houses and jamming so many people in that the reasons that made them want to move here disappears.
Down vote away but stop trying to turn VT into CT or MA or NJ or NY so you can own a house here.
The STR discussions are a honeypot. A tiny amount of houses owned by more economically successful people than the ones complaining about it. You are been spoon fed an enemy that if you defeat will have near zero impact on the claimed cause and will honestly, not really impact the wallet of those with STR.
You can’t afford to buy a house here. Accept it. I can’t afford to buy a house In Hawaii or even costal Florida. I can’t afford a house in Boulder either. Maybe look to a place you can afford to live.
Hellrazor32 t1_j7p5lnp wrote
Yeah well what about the Vermonters who were born here? Don’t we deserve to live near our families? Or should we just be expected to force our elderly parents out of their (paid off) homes and ship them to the cheap states we were forced to move to for our own convenience? What about the 6th generation Vermonters who can afford a 300k home but not a 600k home? We really should just go kick rocks?
Building homes will not “ruin” Vermont. In my lifetime, I’ve heard that solar farms, wind farms, houses, businesses would ruin the state and turn it into New Jersey. Yet somehow, Vermont is still beautiful. I’m so sick of this “tough titty” attitude. Not enough housing is tearing apart families, and it’s destructive to the culture and heritage of Vermont. Housing is a human right. Hey guess what? If you don’t like neighbors, then you should be able to afford 40 acres so you can pretend you live in 18th Century Vermont. Oh, too expensive? Well, move somewhere cheaper.
thesbaine t1_j7phtyy wrote
Obligatory CT resident that likes to keep tabs on my fellow NE states: yeah, no one is trying to turn VT into anything else, and I see the same arguments here that I do in CT. Outside of the cities and large towns, CT has just as many folks going "but it'll ruin the aesthetics" or "but it'll ruin the charm". Totally disregard the fact, though, that many of the towns saying that have open pit quarries on their main roads and have distribution centers/warehouses as their main fixtures right next to their downtown that contains a dive bar, 3 pizza places, and seven nail salons.
Let's be real here: the goal has never been keeping the "charm" of towns. It's always been about keeping "those" people out.
Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j7rx1ny wrote
They are, actually. We're filling up with people from NJ and MA who aren't coming here to work, they're coming here to work remotely or spend their parents money or both. Their answer to our 0.00000001% vacancy rate is build, build, build.
thisoneisnotasbad t1_j7p7gyy wrote
I responded to the other guy who asked the same question. See that response rather than me retyping it .
GreenPL8 t1_j7rnn09 wrote
Do you think you are more deserving because you were born here? The problem with Vermont is it doesn't exist in a vacuum.
Hellrazor32 t1_j7rt9m0 wrote
I mean, yeah actually I do think that people who buy homes where they’re born deserve homes in that state at an incentivized rate, or be given first refusal on property. If it’s cheaper to go to college in-state, why shouldn’t it be cheaper to buy a home in-state? It’s really incredibly sad to me that so many of us are priced out of the counties we grew up in.
Vermont has the 2nd highest homeless population per capita after California, where they’ve declared it a state of emergency. Something’s gotta give. Homes gotta get built!
Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j7sf75o wrote
That's the difference. In California it's big news all the time. Obviously they have a ton of unhoused people and that forces the issue but California is taking real steps, like penalizing towns that don't build affordable housing, that VT will never take. Just like back in the day when stowe went nuts over the education spending law, wealthy VT will never build for real people.
Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j7rxg2y wrote
What's happening here is gentrification just like in a big city. Locals out, New Jersey money in. Sorry we're sick of it.
Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j7p3u3b wrote
And if you grew up here, work here and can't afford to buy? The problem with "can't afford to live here so leave" is very soon VT won't have any service industry workers. People will be cutting their own hair, fixing their own plumbing, etc.
thisoneisnotasbad t1_j7p73xu wrote
I didnt say if you can't afford to live here than leave. I said if you can't afford to move here than don't.
Big difference.
I grew up here. Dirt poor. It took me about 18 years to finally get a house to call a home. It sucked and took every penny I had for 12 of those years going to a building project.
Locals are not being priced out by locals. They are being priced out by people who consider affordable to be way beyond the means of someone who came up here. They are playing you my man. STR are not the enemy, the reason you can't afford a house is work from home folks with NYC income and who are moving to places like Cambridge or Fairfax.
Hellrazor32 t1_j7piy8f wrote
Locals are pricing out locals. Both in the rental market and in buying markets. Scarcity of housing drives up cost, and refusing to build is what creates the scarcity. There are definitely NIMBY Vermonters who don’t want housing options to decrease their property value. A development of 10 homes across road from their home could mean they only get a 100k profit rather than 200k when (if?) they eventually sell.
Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j7rxqon wrote
It's both. And the nimbyism isn't always "locals".
Hellrazor32 t1_j7sbu2c wrote
True.
Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j7rxjle wrote
Whoops, my bad. That is a big difference.
Edit, we totally agree, I read your post wrong.
Loudergood t1_j7q7l67 wrote
Hundreds of houses in the STR market is not a drop in the bucket here.
Also we could seriously go for more density in the villages and downtowns. Most of them have a few mixed use "Block" buildings already and they could probably use a few more.
thisoneisnotasbad t1_j7qd4wc wrote
Yes, they are.
Str represents about 2.5 percent of total housing in VT. That includes room and complete units.
Less then 10% of those are owned by investment firms.
Second homes represent about 17%
Stop being a pawn and do some research.
Loudergood t1_j7qe17o wrote
Tell me, what is the current vacancy rate?
thisoneisnotasbad t1_j7r1xkd wrote
As of 2021 (2022 not available) 2.5
I se second quarter 22 is available. 2.4
Loudergood t1_j7r2mip wrote
So we could double that in one stroke. While building.
thisoneisnotasbad t1_j7r3ekm wrote
No you can't. 2.5% represents all STR. All rooms, camps, seasonal rentals and everything else which is rented and not a hotel or B&B.
Loudergood t1_j7r48q1 wrote
That must apply to the vacancies as well, so doubling is still accurate.
thisoneisnotasbad t1_j7r4st6 wrote
Disengenous to say a vacancy in a house as a str room is the same as a vacancy in an apartment. The numbers need context.
Loudergood t1_j7r75mf wrote
No one is talking about shutting down room rentals, those aren't part of the problem, and are a small percentage of Airbnbs.
thisoneisnotasbad t1_j7rg0vy wrote
But they are included in the 2.5% of units which are STR. As are seasonal camps and other non year round dwellings fo saying banning STR will double the vacancy rate is incorrect because it ignore the fact that not ever STR could or would become a LTR.
idreamofchickpea t1_j7pfwfe wrote
Do you imagine that housing is affordable elsewhere? Housing is a national crisis and it’s only getting worse. I agree with you that STRs are only part of the problem and a convenient scapegoat, but so are your imaginary rich chuds from “elsewhere.” You know very well that plenty of Vermonters are just scraping by - this is absolutely a political decision and there is no reason to live like this.
Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j7sfbaw wrote
Across the lake houses can be had for under $100k.
Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j7rwsrv wrote
That first paragraph is the story of VT. Chittenden County is already NJ North, only a matter of time before the rest of the state is too.
I disagree on one point. We need to build workforce housing. We don't need to build remote worker housing, but we need young people working here if the state has any hope of being livable, which it probably doesn't.
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