Witnesses Say Labor, Energy Rules and Permitting Are Driving Up Vermont Housing Costs

Kurt Nassar, director of preconstruction at PC Construction, told the Senate Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee on the last day of January that Vermont faces multiple cost drivers that make building housing more expensive than neighboring states. He said the state’s labor supply is constrained, wages are relatively high and successive updates to the Commercial Building Energy Standard add per‑unit costs to multifamily projects.

Those factors combine, committee members were told, to reduce developer appetite for Vermont projects and to raise the price of new apartments and publicly supported housing. "Are we in a housing emergency? I would say yes," Nassar said during his presentation.

Why it matters: committee members and witnesses framed the issue as immediate and consequential for residents and employers. Panelists said developers that initially pursue Vermont projects frequently shift to New Hampshire or Maine after factoring in construction costs and permit timelines. Several witnesses urged the committee to assemble objective permitting‑timeline comparisons and to examine where state and municipal processes duplicate review and add delay.

Nassar described three primary drivers: available labor, construction wages and more stringent energy requirements. He showed data that New Hampshire has grown construction employment faster…