Vermont’s white-hot housing market continues to cool as “For Sale” signs multiply and homes take longer to sell. Market data collected by the Vermont Association of Realtors show nearly 3,000 active listings statewide last month, the most at any point since 2020. The median number of days homes are spending on the market has risen to 17, from a low of six in 2022.
Even in fiercely competitive Chittenden County, homes receiving more than a few offers are now the exception rather than the rule. The landscape is far different than during the height of the pandemic, when a lack of inventory led to frenzied bidding wars and many buyers waived commonsense contingencies such as home inspections.
“It doesn’t seem like that Easter-egg mentality we saw during peak COVID, where it felt like whoever found it first was going to get it,” Brian Racine, a regional manager at Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty, said. “People are feeling comfortable with their choices.”
But while house hunters have a little more breathing room, a persistent affordability crisis — driven by high prices and unfavorable interest rates — continues to sideline many potential buyers.
This slowdown is the latest fluctuation of a housing market that has undergone several distinct phases over the past decade.
Vermont became a magnet during the pandemic for people looking to escape crowded cities. Cash-flush buyers snapped up homes within days or even hours of their listing, sometimes sight unseen. Inventory was scarce as active listings plummeted by 80 percent between August 2019 and August 2022.
Climbing interest rates further squeezed both ends of the market, keeping potential buyers on the sidelines and prompting would-be sellers to reconsider. Many homeowners bought their houses when interest rates were less than 4 percent. Selling would have meant trading that low rate for a higher one — if they could even find another place. When mortgage rates hit a nearly 25-year high of 7.5 percent in 2023, the volume of new sales and listings fell, in tandem, to their lowest level in a decade.
High borrowing rates and unease over the economy continue to give house hunters pause.
Although mortgage rates have not significantly dropped since then, the freeze on new listings has started to thaw. Last year, 9,660 Vermont homes were listed for sale, according to MLS data, the most in four years.
Some sellers who were waiting for mortgage rates to fall have changed their minds due to unavoidable life events, which real estate agents refer to as the four Ds: diamonds, death, divorce or diapers.
“Life changes happen, and people still make moves,” said Leslee MacKenzie, president and owner of Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman.
Realtors are also seeing more empty nesters looking to sell. “People are realizing that their real estate investment has gone really well in Vermont,” Racine said, “and I think more and more are looking to right-size and find a property that better fits their lifestyle and needs.”
But high borrowing rates and unease over the economy continue to give house hunters pause, which experts say is why the rate of home sales remains well below historic norms. Vermont recorded 7,200 home sales last year, compared to an average of 8,500 annually in the three years before the pandemic.
As more inventory comes online, the market has tilted back toward buyers, who are once again demanding inspections and appraisals.
“They’re taking their time and making sure it’s the right move for them,” Racine said. “That’s a great thing, because we don’t get as many upset clients.”
Sellers have been forced to react. During the pandemic, they could simply list their homes and “let the feeding frenzy begin,” as Racine put it. Now, competitively priced, move-in-ready homes might still field a few offers, while homes in need of renovations are sitting on the market untouched.
The homebuying process has become “much more scientific,” Racine said.
Some Vermont sellers are not happy about lowering their expectations after years of double-digit appreciation. Realtors say they’re now advising clients to cut asking prices if offers don’t materialize within the first couple of weeks.
The homes that do sell aren’t exactly cheap: The median sales price in Vermont has risen to $450,000 as of August 2026 — up from a median of $250,000 in 2019. And nearly all of the 780 homes that sold last month went for at least the listing price, according to the Vermont Association of Realtors.
In other parts of the country, cooling real estate markets have pushed home prices down. That’s not likely to happen in Vermont, at least not anytime soon, real estate agents say.
The state is not producing enough new homes to meet even current demand, let alone what’s expected in the future. New building permits, a leading indicator of production, dipped in 2025 after a few years of modest growth, according to data from the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. Without a massive boost in inventory, demand will remain high.
While the rate of appreciation has started to slow, prices are still well beyond the reach of many families. To afford today’s median-priced home, buyers would need to be able to cover a $2,800 monthly mortgage — and to come up with a 20 percent down payment, or $90,000.
This affordability crunch falls most heavily on first-time buyers, who haven’t yet built up equity. Maura Collins, executive director of VHFA, said new buyers are looking to leverage down-payment assistance programs, often multiple ones at once.
“It’s a whole new skill they’re having to learn,” she said.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Good Buys? The feeding frenzy may be over in Vermont’s housing market, but affordability challenges persist”
This article appears in Nest • Fall 2026.
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