Existing Housing Conditions

Demographic trends, land use regulations, economic conditions, and local and state property taxes all have an effect on the issue of housing within the Windham Region. This chapter focuses specifically on housing information. Additional information about factors affecting housing can be found in the Windham Region Profile, Land Use, Economy, and Utility, Facility and Technology chapters.

HOUSING TENURE STATUS AND GROWTH

In 2010, a total of 42.6 percent of the housing stock in the Windham Region was owner occupied, and 19.5 percent of the housing stock was categorized as renter occupied. The remaining 37.9 percent of the housing stock was given a status of vacant. Table 6-1 provides a detailed breakdown of how vacant housing is categorized within the region. The vast majority of “vacant” housing is grouped as “For seasonal, recreation, or occasional use” and comprises 33.4 percent of the region’s housing stock. The occupancy rates seen in this table are similar to rates reported in 2000.

TABLE 6-1: WINDHAM REGION HOUSING TENURE STATUS, 2010 

From 2000 to 2010, an additional 2,792 housing units were added to the Windham Region’s housing stock, yielding a 9.4 percent increase in total housing units in the region from 2000 figures. Vermont saw an overall increase of 9.6 percent in total housing units over this same time period. Table 6-2 provides a summary of the region’s housing tenure status in 1990, 2000 and 2010. Seasonal housing saw the largest increase in total number of housing units and is the only category to have its overall share of the housing units increase in 2010.

TABLE 6-2: WINDHAM REGION HOUSING TENURE STATUS, 1990-201075 1990 2000 2010 Unit Type Housing Units Percent Housing Units Percent Housing Units Percent Owner occupied 11,004 38.9% 13,213 44.3% 13,915 42.6% Renter occupied 6,031 21.3% 6,115 20.5% 6,360 19.5% Seasonal 9,318 32.9% 9,290 31.1% 10,916 33.4% Total 28,314 29,846 32,638 % Change from Previous Decade + 5.4% + 9.4% Source: 1990, 2000, & 2010 Census, U.S. Census Bureau

The homeowner vacancy rate in 2010 for Windham County was 2.1 percent, while the renter vacancy rate was 8.4 percent. The homeowner vacancy rate is similar to surrounding counties, including those in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and the State. The renter vacancy rate is slightly higher than rates seen in surrounding counties and the State, with the exception of Windsor County, which has a renter vacancy rate of 10.2 percent. The U.S. homeowner and renter vacancy rates for 2010 were 2.4 percent and 9.2 percent, respectively.

Growth in total housing units within the region’s towns has varied (see Windham Region Profile). Somerset is the only town that experienced a decrease in housing units, from 28 in 2000 to 21 in 2010. Of note, the towns with the greatest rate of growth in housing stock in the last ten years were not the towns that saw highest percent of increase in population. The town of Stratton had the largest increase in housing stock with a 32.6 percent increase, and saw an increase in population of 58.8 percent from 2000 to 2010. However, the next three towns with the largest percentage increases in housing stock, Vernon (17.9 percent), Townshend (17.4 percent) and Whitingham (14.5 percent) saw population increases of only 3.04 percent, 7.22 percent, and 4.55 percent respectively. The same holds true if one looks only at numeric increases. The towns with the greatest addition of total housing units were Stratton (356), Brattleboro (312), Dover (305), and Wilmington (261). The towns with the greatest number of added residents were Athens (102), Marlboro (100), Windham (91) and Jamaica (89). Figure 6-1 illustrates this trend across the region.

This is a new development since the last Regional Plan, and may indicate a shift in occupancy make-up in new and existing housing stock. Additionally, three of the towns with the highest increases in housing are resort towns with high seasonal housing ratios, which could explain occurrences of increased housing without significant increases in population; however, this does not explain the correspondingly sharp decrease in population in the towns of Dover and Wilmington. Dramatic losses of population were recorded for resort towns around the State, and may be caused by a shift in procedure for how seasonal residents are counted. Windham & Windsor Housing Trust noted this same anomaly in the data collected for the resort towns of Wilmington and Ludlow in their recent study:

”In contrast to the Census drops in population [for Wilmington and Ludlow], state labor market data indicates that both communities showed moderate increases in resident employment, as well as sharp rises in unemployment over the course of the decade. Taken together, they suggest more residents live in the communities than the Census indicates.”

While difficult to explain at this juncture, the overall disconnect between housing development and population growth should be monitored in future plans and explored in the regional housing assessments.