Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Vermont is desperate for new homes. Is it time to build them in factories?
Your Statehouse update: A newsletter for policy nerds, political geeks and the rest of us. Conversational, without sacrificing the seriousness of the politics and legislation that impact Vermonters. Modular houses are built on the assembly line at Huntington Homes in East Montpelier on Monday, January 27, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger This story, by Report…
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New home construction surged in 2024 despite higher interest rates. There's a big reason why.
Marion Woods and her husband, Paul, were so firm in their quest to buy either an older house or a double-wide mobile home that they balked at their real estate agent’s idea of considering a newly built home. That was until they finally looked at one. What happened after that changed their minds completely. In…
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New tariffs could raise home prices and sideline potential buyers
The U.S. housing market was already struggling under the weight of high mortgage interest rates, a low supply of existing homes for sale and historically high home prices. Now tariffs on building materials are adding even more pressure. Roughly 30% of softwood lumber consumed in the U.S. is imported, largely from Canada. Wallboard, known as gypsum, is imported from…
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Mass. must build 222,000 homes over the next decade to rein in housing costs, state says
Massachusetts must accelerate housing production and build 222,000 new homes across the state over the next 10 years to head off the deepening housing shortage, Governor Maura Healey’s administration said Thursday. The figure — perhaps the most comprehensive analysis of growing housing demand in the state to date — crystalizes the severity of the state’s…
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Vermont is desperate for new homes. Is it time to build them in factories?
Your Statehouse update: A newsletter for policy nerds, political geeks and the rest of us. Conversational, without sacrificing the seriousness of the politics and legislation that impact Vermonters. Modular houses are built on the assembly line at Huntington Homes in East Montpelier on Monday, January 27, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger This story, by Report…
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New home construction surged in 2024 despite higher interest rates. There's a big reason why.
Marion Woods and her husband, Paul, were so firm in their quest to buy either an older house or a double-wide mobile home that they balked at their real estate agent’s idea of considering a newly built home. That was until they finally looked at one. What happened after that changed their minds completely. In…
-
New tariffs could raise home prices and sideline potential buyers
The U.S. housing market was already struggling under the weight of high mortgage interest rates, a low supply of existing homes for sale and historically high home prices. Now tariffs on building materials are adding even more pressure. Roughly 30% of softwood lumber consumed in the U.S. is imported, largely from Canada. Wallboard, known as gypsum, is imported from…
-
Mass. must build 222,000 homes over the next decade to rein in housing costs, state says
Massachusetts must accelerate housing production and build 222,000 new homes across the state over the next 10 years to head off the deepening housing shortage, Governor Maura Healey’s administration said Thursday. The figure — perhaps the most comprehensive analysis of growing housing demand in the state to date — crystalizes the severity of the state’s…
-
Vermont is desperate for new homes. Is it time to build them in factories?
Your Statehouse update: A newsletter for policy nerds, political geeks and the rest of us. Conversational, without sacrificing the seriousness of the politics and legislation that impact Vermonters. Modular houses are built on the assembly line at Huntington Homes in East Montpelier on Monday, January 27, 2025. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger This story, by Report…
-
New home construction surged in 2024 despite higher interest rates. There's a big reason why.
Marion Woods and her husband, Paul, were so firm in their quest to buy either an older house or a double-wide mobile home that they balked at their real estate agent’s idea of considering a newly built home. That was until they finally looked at one. What happened after that changed their minds completely. In…
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