Vermont Country Properties Sotheby's International Realty's Weblog

Story Highlights:
- Vermont’s largest city is tops among U.S. metropolitan areas in exercise
- Burlington is also among the lowest in obesity, diabetes and illness
- The average age in Burlington, Vermont, is 37

(AP) — What’s the healthiest city in America? It appears to be Burlington, Vermont.

Vermont’s largest city is tops among U.S. metropolitan areas by having the largest proportion of people — 92 percent — who say they are in good or great health.

It’s also among the best in exercise and among the lowest in obesity, diabetes and other measures of ill health, according to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This New England city of 40,000, on the shores of Lake Champlain, is in some ways similar to the unhealthiest city — Huntington, West Virginia. Both are out-of-the-way college towns with populations that are overwhelmingly white people of English, German or Irish ancestry.

But there the similarities end:

- Burlington is younger, with an average age of 37, compared to 40 in Huntington, according to the Census Bureau.

- Burlington is better off financially, with 8 percent living at the federal poverty level, compared to 19 percent in Huntington.

- It’s much more educated, with nearly 40 percent of area residents having at least a college bachelor’s degree. Only 15 percent in the Huntington area do.

The cultures are significantly different, too. Bicycling, hiking, skiing and other exercises are common in Burlington. Neighborhood groups commonly focus on improving parks, working in community gardens and repairing and improving sidewalks.

“There’s this norm of a lot of activity,” said Chris Finley, Vermont’s deputy health commissioner, who works in Burlington.

And though college staples like pizza are common, healthier foods are also popular. Grass-fed beef is offered in finer restaurants, vegan options are plentiful, and the lone downtown supermarket is run by a co-op successful in selling bulk rice and other healthy choices to low-income residents.

Burlington is helped by the presence of IBM and other employers offering more generous health benefits and corporate wellness programs than companies in Huntington, some experts suggested.

Link to original article at: CNN.com.

Shelburne Office
Cleland North - Alburg, VT
Listed By: Diane Felix

MLS#: 2812567 Type: Residential Square Feet: 3200 Acres: 0.08 Bedrooms: 7 Baths: 3 Full Price: $549,000

Relax on one of two enormous decks or sit by the fireplace and enjoy the mesmerizing and undisturbed sunset through soaring windows. This beautiful contemporary home was designed by internationally-renowned, award-winning, Vermont native architect Marcel Beaudin, who is best known for designing the Burlington Boathouse. This unique lakefront property features seven bedrooms, three full baths, first floor Italian tile with radiant heating, soaring ceilings and a wall of windows facing Lake Champlain.

The open floor plan is accentuated by a dramatic blue slate fireplace that brings the modern and contemporary feel of the home full-circle. The bright and airy first floor gourmet kitchen features granite countertops and high-end GE appliances, including refrigerator, wall oven, microwave, dishwasher, and downdraft gas cook top. The second floor master bedroom suite includes walk-in closet and large bath with soaking tub, walk-in shower with double shower heads for two or more, and two extra closets for linens and towels. Outdoor amenities include 68 feet of direct waterfront, a 45 foot aluminum dock with wheels and a concrete seawall to minimize erosion.

This all-season retreat is located approximately 45 minutes from Montreal, Canada, Burlington, Vermont and skiing at Jay Peak.

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By Katie Zezima
Published: November 7, 2008

ORWELL, Vt. — Not much has changed over the years at the First National Bank of Orwell. Not the gilded chandeliers and teller’s booths with brass bars separating employees and customers. Not its view of the village green across the street. And most certainly not its ability to make loans, even as the big-city banks are cutting back.

“Demand is up, there’s a tight credit market out there, and we benefit from having money available,” said Bryan Young, the vice president. “We’re very particular on what and who we take, and there’s no need to take anything less than solid credit.”

While many of the nation’s large and midsize banks are staggering under the weight of bad mortgages piled up during the housing boom, the First National Bank of Orwell, Vermont’s smallest bank, founded in 1832, is having its best year in recent memory. Loans are up 22.6 percent from a year ago, and deposits are up 7 percent in the same period, Mr. Young said. The bank has $36.5 million in assets.

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Many Postponing Plans To Buy, Sell Homes
By Matt Carter
Thursday, October 30, 2008.
Inman News

Three recent surveys show continued turmoil in housing and financial markets have many Americans postponing decisions to buy or sell a home, but that they remain optimistic about the near-term prospects of a recovery and still consider a home to be a good investment.

The surveys — commissioned by real estate portal Zillow, real estate franchisor and brokerage Realogy Corp., and advertising firm J. Walter Thompson — suggest that should government action to unfreeze credit markets succeed, consumers stand ready to participate in a housing recovery.

Zillow’s quarterly homeowner confidence survey showed that when it comes to their own home’s value, many Americans may be out of touch with reality.

Although Zillow’s vast database of public records showed an estimated 74 percent of homes have lost value in the last 12 months, only 51 percent of homeowners polled believed their own home had lost value in the past year.

Asked to look ahead six months, 61 percent of homeowners said they expect their own home’s value will hold steady or grow. But they evidently didn’t think their neighbors’ homes would fare as well, since 57 percent said they expect home values in their local market to decrease in the next six months.

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By Katie Zezima
Published: November 2, 2008

It is no surprise that Burlington, a city whose biggest exports include the jam band Phish and Ben & Jerry’s, has a chill, socially conscious vibe. But for all its worldliness — antiglobalization rallies and fair-trade products abound — Burlington has lately turned an eye to the local. The Lake Champlain shoreline has undergone a renaissance in recent years, with gleaming new hotels, bike and sailboat rental shops and parks with sweeping views of the Adirondack Mountains. But perhaps the strongest emphasis on local can be found in the city’s developing restaurant scene, where menus are now filled with heirloom tomatoes and grass-fed beef from (where else?) Vermont. And you’re practically required to wash it all down with a local microbrew.

Friday

4:30 p.m.
1) STROLL, SHOP AND STARE

With its eclectic mix of students, activists, artists, families and professors (the University of Vermont is based here), Burlington offers some interesting people-watching. Take in the sights at the Church Street Marketplace (2 Church Street), a wide, four-block concourse that is the city’s social center and home to more than 100 shops and restaurants. The pace is slow, leisurely and crowded, so be sure to leave plenty of time to explore. Pop into Sweet Lady Jane (40 Church Street; 802-862-5051; www.sweetladyjane.biz) for funky women’s clothes and accessories; Frog Hollow (85 Church Street; 802-863-6458; www.froghollow.org) to check out treasures created by Vermont artists; and Lake Champlain Chocolates (65 Church Street; 802-862-5185; www.lakechamplainchocolates.com), where a hot chocolate doubles as a meal, and we dare you to eat just one truffle.

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10/21/08
By Nancy Stead

Are you imagining your local real estate broker poised on the precipice atop Stowe Pinnacle, wondering if it is time to leap?

Nonsense. Despite what the media say about the national market, Stowe is having a good year. It is just a lot more work for us brokers.

Congress is meeting as I write to address (or not) the national financial credit crisis. The world may be a very different place when this column is published, but here is what I see today.

There is an unwarranted perception that our real-estate market is very soft. It isn’t; it has been holding steady from 2006 until now, and our volume is only down about 9 percent from the high of 2005.

The perception is fed by association — if it is terrible in Florida, it must be terrible here as well — and by the time it takes a particular property to sell, because there is so much inventory on the market.

The back-up in inventory means there are lots and lots of properties for potential buyers to look at, and they legitimately want to see everything in their price range.

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10/21/08
By Lisa McCormack

Call it the Stowe mystique. While the real-estate market is tanking across the United States, there is no shortage of buyers here.

In some parts of the country, home values have dropped 30 percent in the past year, the foreclosure rate is the highest since the Great Depression, and the federal government has passed a billion-dollar package to help beleaguered homeowners and mortgage lenders (not to mention a $700 billion debate over propping up the financial markets).

But doom and gloom? Not in Stowe real-estate offices.

Though there were fewer property sales in the first eight months of 2008 compared to 2007, the total value of those transfers equals or exceeds the 2007 numbers — an indication that housing values haven’t slumped.

According to the Vermont Department of Taxes, Stowe had 185 property transfers in 2007, yielding $1,280,774 in property transfer taxes. Between January and August 2008, Stowe had 99 property transfers, with property transfer taxes of $ 1,243,221.

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By Warren E. Buffett
Op-Ed Contributor
Published: October 16, 2008 

The financial world is a mess, both in the United States and abroad. Its problems, moreover, have been leaking into the general economy, and the leaks are now turning into a gusher. In the near term, unemployment will rise, business activity will falter and headlines will continue to be scary.

So… I’ve been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I’m talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds. (This description leaves aside my Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.) If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities.

Why?

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Ludlow/Okemo Office
Lannan Lane - Ludlow, VT
Listed By: Kate Mackenzy

MLS#: 2811862 Type: Residential Square Feet: 3777 Acres: 10 Bedrooms: 3 Baths: 3 Full, 2 Half Price: $1,525,000

Magnificent Adirondack home with undoubtly one of the best views of Okemo Mountain and beyond. Situated on the western ledge of North Hill, only 3 miles to Okemo Village. This stunning home offers almost 4,000 square feet of quality and European styling throughout. Wonderful great room, stone fireplace, 1st floor master bedroom suite, striking kitchen, dining area with limestone floor, utility closet, doors to wrap-around decks, and covered breezeway to garage.

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Cash injections favored over mortgage purchases
By Matt Carter, Tuesday, October 14, 2008.
Inman News

The Bush administration today announced a change of course in its implementation of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, with most of the initial $350 billion authorization now earmarked to buy preferred stock in banks rather than mortgage-backed securities and whole mortgage loans.

The new direction — part of a global response to the credit crisis that officials said was necessitated by the continued reluctance of banks to loan each other money — is intended to restore lending by recapitalizing banks.

Investing directly in banks instead of buying up their troubled assets will allow for a faster deployment of money the U.S. Treasury Department was authorized to borrow under the rescue package approved by Congress and signed into law by President Bush Oct. 3.

That could help ease fears banks have had in recent weeks about lending money to each other, which has pushed up short-term interest rates that are tied to adjustable-rate mortgages. Most subprime and alt-A adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans are tied to the six-month dollar London Interbank Offered Rate, which has risen dramatically in recent weeks (see Inman News story).

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