Burlington, VT

February 4th, 2010

Burlington Vermont

Vermont continues to have the lowest foreclosures of any state in the entire United States. Recent information reported by Bloomberg BusinessWeek indicate that Vermont has suffered the least with ONLY 143 foreclosures in the entire state for all of 2009!

RealtyTrac, in its monthly report from December 2009, reported that only 6 homes in all of Chittenden County (includes 17 towns around and including Burlington VT) went into foreclosure or 1 in every 10,479 housing units.

Put another way, The Vermont Housing Finance Agency (VHFA.org) reported from the Bloomberg.com website that as of January 29th, 2010, Vermont had the lowest foreclosure rate in the country at 0.04% of all homes in the state. The Bloomberg article went on to report that Vermonters are avoiding the foreclosure mess in part owing to traditions of "thrift, modesty and self-reliance - bolstered by laws that protect buyers and land".

In addition, the article went on to say "state and local laws discourage the kind of speculation that spurred development in some states, said Robert Hill, executive vice president of the Vermont Association of Realtors in Montpelier. "If a site for home construction is found to be on prime agricultural soil, the project is halted. The house must be built elsewhere, other land must be purchased and put in a trust as an offset, or the builder must go to court to seek clearance," he said.

Hill continued saying, “The permitting process is extremely difficult to maneuver in Vermont.” “Any developer or builder has to make a significant investment of time and effort. You just can’t come in here and throw stuff up overnight.”

Whatever the reasons, tiny Vermont (pop. 621,270) leads the nation in a category we can be extremely grateful for. With stringent environmental and zoning laws on the books for decades supply has been kept low. This enraged developers looking to make a fast buck during the go-go years. Hill added, as a result, "demand has outstripped the supply of housing. With no surplus of homes, prices didn’t collapse (like in many other states) when buyers decreased," Hill said.

If you are considering listing your home for sale or buying a home, condominium or other real estate in Burlington, Vermont, please give me a call or email me to discuss the market and your options. I would be delighted to assist you. I can be reached on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com

Armed with solid numbers, buyers and sellers alike can manage their expectations and the current realities of our local market.

As always, please feel free to post any thoughts and comments right here on Hurd's The Word

This Saturday, February 6th Burlington, Vermont will participate in the 15th annual Penguin Plunge to support Special Olympics of Vermont. This Burlington event has become well known from its start in 1995 with only 15 participants to a record 900 participants in 2009. This year should break all records with approximately 1,000 participants. Jump into the icy waters of Lake Champlain to help support the 850+ Special Olympics athletes in Vermont. Donations will go towards providing the athletes with opportunities to participate in sports training and athletic competitions.

If you would like to participate in the Penguin Plunge, fundraising expectations are a $25 registration fee and a $150 fundraising minimum per participant. This year, Special Olympics of Vermont hopes to raise $350,000 from the event. You may click here to register: http://www.vtso.org/burlington_plunge.php

Come down to the Burlington waterfront at 11 am to watch the festivities.

For more information, contact Kim Bookless at KBookless@vtso.org

For a less chilly way to support Special Olympics of Vermont, visit Mexicali Grill and Cantina in Williston today between 11 am and 10 pm as they will donate 10% of all proceeds from food and drink purchased today (including take-out) to Special Olympics of Vermont.

Catamount Realty Group proudly supports Special Olympics of Vermont. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so on line at https://secure.specialolympics.org/site/apps/ka/sd/donorcustom.asp?c=mlIYIjNZJuE&b=5190615&BeneficiaryID=VT146 or by mailing a check to Special Olympics Vermont, 368 Avenue D, Suite 30, Williston, Vermont 05495 Double or triple your tax-deductible donation to Special Olympics Vermont through your company's matching gift program. Find out if your company will match your donation to Special Olympics with our custom search engine. If you need information to process these matching funds, please contact Chrus Bernier (cbernier@vtso.org) at Special Olympics Vermont.

January 27th, 2010

Burlington VT

Based upon information provided by the Northwestern Vermont Board of Realtors (NVBR) as of today for all of 2009, there were 276 single family residential and condominium units sold within Burlington Vermont with a total sold volume of $70,919,923.

These numbers represent a 26.03% increase in the number of units sold from the same time period one year earlier (1/1/09-12/31/09). Divide this number by the units sold (276) and you get an average sale price of $256,956. These numbers represent a 11.16% decrease in the average sales price from the same time period one year earlier (1/1/09-12/31/09).

Average days on the market for all these 219 properties was 74 compared to 75 one year earlier or 1.33% longer on the market.

If you are considering listing your home for sale or buying a home, condominium or other real estate in Burlington, Vermont, please give me a call or email me to discuss the market and your options. I would be delighted to assist you. I can be reached on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com

As always, please feel free to post any thoughts and comments right here on Hurd's The Word

Armed with solid numbers, buyers and sellers alike can manage their expectations and the current realities of our local market.

(These figures include sold numbers for single family residential and condominium only in all the towns which comprise Chittenden County, Vermont only. All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed by Vermont Real Estate Information Network which supplies these figures.)

January 25th, 2010

Burlington VT

No other neighborhood in Burlington Vermont can boast about the infrastructure and amenities that Appletree Point and its Association provide. Not one.

Price points range from over a million to be right on the lake with a single family home, to the $350,000 to $600,000 range for single family homes not right on the lake, to high $200's for a townhouse. Appletree Point also has a well run Association with affordable cost effective association fees.

The list of amenities is long for this neighborhood. Sandy private beach on Lake Champlain with a gradual descent into the lake make it ideal for swimming or launching kayaks/canoes. Two swimming pools set at either end of the neighborhood cater to families during the summer months. The City of Burlington has a public park which includes a baseball diamond, several hardcourt tennis courts, a basketball court and toddler playground.

Appletree Point is located off North Avenue about 2.5 miles north of downtown Burlington. The road into this neighborhood is not a "through road." Coming into Appletree Point is THE destination. Thus, the vast majority of people coming into this area are its residents not people commuting through or just driving around.

The area is within a half mile of the Burlington Bike and Recreation Path which runs along Lake Champlain for cycling, rollerblading, running and walking in the milder months and walking, snow shoeing and cross country skiing in Winter.

If you are considering buying in Burlington be sure to consider this fantastic neighborhood.

If you are considering listing your home for sale or buying a home, condominium or other real estate in Burlington, Vermont, please give me a call or email me to discuss the market and your options. I would be delighted to assist you. I can be reached on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com

As always, please feel free to post any thoughts and comments about downsizing right here on Hurd's The Word.

January 13th, 2010

Burlington VT

What is the future for Burlington Vermont and business development? This and many other questions were raised and addressed recently.

Last week, I attended the 8th annual Business Summit sponsored by the Burlington Business Association (BBA) hosted at Champlain College. The summit brought business people from across the area together to hear three lecturers discuss the past, present and future for our city and to brainstorm in breakout sessions what needs to be done to keep Burlington vibrant, creative and growing.

Several statistics presented at the outset bear repeating and amplification. The unemployment rate in Burlington VT stands at 5.4% compared to the national average which stands at 10%. I found that to be a startlingly positive number. In addition, the vacancy rate for homes and residential rentals stands at 3.08% (amongst the lowest in the USA - AOL Real Estate). These figures are simply outstanding at a time of great difficulty faced by scores of other communities across the United States.

As the keynote speakers concluded, one in particular stood out above the rest for her outspoken and positive take on what is going on at the "street level" in Burlington and in the State of Vermont.

Liz Robert is the CEO of Terry Precision Cycles, a company which has pioneered several innovations aimed at improving the quality of cycling for women. Robert's list of business accomplishments is deep and she spoke with great confidence and reverence for what attracted her to very recently relocate her company from Rochester NY to Burlington VT.

Robert recited in short order a list of reasons why such a relocation at first blush made no sense financially. The costs of doing business in Burlington were significantly higher. She cited higher home prices, medical insurance premiums and tax rates as obstacles yet she continued to ask herself "should I relocate my company to Burlington?".

In the end, Robert concluded that Burlington VT offered a climate of "creative energy" that simply did not exist in Rochester NY. She added "people are passionate in Burlington about what they do both from a work, play and socially concious center. People here like to engage in debate as a community and ask the tough questions to help derive better answers and results. She continued underscoring that there is a "powerful visual aesthetic" that adds to the exceptional quality of life. People here have a greater sense of "purpose, mission, tolerance and an independent mindset" that is lacking in other places.

Lastly, Robert concluded her remarks by saying "moving to Burlington makes you work hard. You end up working more than just for the almighty buck. It makes you willing to defy the odds of taking a startup to success."

When asked about Burlington and the state of Vermont's reputation for lack of incentives for business owners she emphatically decried, "It's simply not true. The business community here has a really well-oiled machine at its disposal. The state of Vermont really steppped up to the plate to help get us here."

All of these factors, she reasoned, would help her attract and retain quality employees much more so than the vibe which existed in Rochester.

"Rebuilding economies is about entrepreneurship," said Robert. "It's about entrepreneurs taking the initiative and working with regulators. It's up to us. It's up to businesspeople like ourselves to step up to the plate to do the hard work."

Stay tuned here at Hurd's The Word for more information from the breakout sessions from the Burlington VT Business Summit as additional details are forthcoming.

As always, please feel free to post your thoughts and any comments about The State of Burlington VT's Business Sector right here on Hurd's The Word

If you are interested in purchasing a home in and around Burlington Vermont, please call me on my direct line at 802.238.5256 or email me at Chris@ChrisHurdVT.com