The Housers Podcast

'My firm recently won the nod through a Request for Proposal (RFP) to build a 123+ unit mixed income development for the upscale town of Dorset, VT. In the midst of negotiating a development agreement, detractors for the project made themselves known. For several months and with our help, town leadership prepared to advocate for their efforts which had to that point totaled more than eight years a...

Our parent company, SMGraves Associates recently won the nod to build 123+ units of workforce and moderate income market rate housing in the town of Dorset, VT.  This was slated to be a $90MM project and one of the first in Vermont to take advantage of new programming including the Communities Housing Infrastructure Program or CHIP.  NIMBYs cratered the project before it even got off the ground an...

Today's Episode is taken from host Scott Graves 'Are We Here Yet? substack of January 2, 2026.  The following is a transcript. Explore the Are We Here Yet? substack Our city completed a round of dispossessing themselves of properties they own this past November. These properties were acquired sometime in the past because their last owners failed to pay their property taxes, were abandoned after th...

Author Ryan Short's 2025 The Civic Brand: The Power & Responsibility of Place caught our attention for a singular reason.  One of the books many underlying themes is to choose substance over shallow 'solutions'.  Why do we hang new banners downtown every 5 years when we make no substantive investments in small business to fill those empty storefronts?  Why do we collect data points to defend proje...

Michael Cohen is a partner and founding member of Lean Real Estate , a successful investment firm buying directly from owners.  The team at Lean applies lean manufacturing principles to real estate investment, which has helped the team of three stay focused and well disciplined in every aspect of their operation.   Learn from Michael how to apply lean principles to your operation in our episode, p...

Listeners to our podcast will recall we've spoken about defining your target market(s) for renters or owners while considering how the physical environment around them can enhance their success and yours.  Our guest this week has developed an innovative model combining infill pocket neighborhood development with programming and commercial amenities that serve families with developmentally challeng...

Darren Sherburne is Associate Broker of Four Seasons Sotheby's Fairlee VT office and an active houser developing a variety of properties in the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont. Darren reports on the current housing challenges in his region and gave us plenty to think about regarding how to get more of your housers started, where the funding can come from, what policy measures coul...

I'm joined this week by Ed Bove, the Planning Director for my hometown of Rutland, Vermont, USA.  A year into his tenure Ed is leading the effort to refine our cities zoning regulations to reflect an effort to build 1000 units of housing in five years.   Listen to Ed's 2024 interview for the Are We Here Yet? Podcast. We discussed the inner workings of the ongoing regs themselves, what changes are...

I had the distinct pleasure to sit down with two leading voices from the Congress for New Urbanism this past spring for a frank conversation on our current housing crisis. Their different ages and life experiences offer us a wealth of perspective to learn from and leverage.  Let's dive right in to learn together in order to better each of our efforts to solve the issues of housing in America.  Tod...

Host Scott Graves is once again joined by Stephen Box, Scott's partner in Partners in Housing, small scale housing developments in Vermont and columnist under the column header, the accidental activist. Stephen is also our co-host for The Housers Podcast.  Stephen and Scott explain for listeners how a more aggressive approach to building market rate housing in the US could benefit the affordable h...

Vermont isn't just shrinking in population, its aging.  The state has 30,000 fewer working age citizens between 25-40 then it did 25 years ago.  This, while modest population gains during the Covid-19 pandemic has reversed. For those of us at the Innova802 Crew, we see the effects every day.  Many citizens on fixed incomes, who represent a larger share of the population, cannot afford increases to...

We're joined by Julie Marks of the  Vermont Short Term Rental Alliance (VTSTRA) to take a deeper look at what STRs mean to the Vermont economy and what role STRs play or don't play in the housing crisis in Vermont and in the country. Listeners will get a sense for the profile of many STR owners and what role STRs can play in housing people under a variety of circumstances. In the Housers hometown...

Host and founder Scott Graves is asking some tough questions for all of us to ask in our own communities.  How do we get beyond a place of manufactured scarcity and support all forms of private and public housing development to meet our middle market needs?  Find Scott's Latest Essays from An Artist Audio recording on The Housers Podcast and the Are We Here Yet? Podcast .  Find his housing advocac...

Co-hosts Stephen Box and Scott Graves rattle on regarding the four rules Alexandre Behringused when he took charge and began scripting the critical moves, not all the moves, just the critical moves for the Brazilian Railroad.  He implemented four rules with a focused commitment to the destination which he defined as financial solvency and operational efficiency.  Can a similar tactic be leveraged...

Stephen Box and his family moved to Rutland VT from Los Angeles. Like many others they left the city during covid to seek their fortunes in rural America. Stephen is an accidental activist.  He doesn't take no for an answer.  As founder of Partners in Housing , as columnist in the Mountain Times and a Rutland Houser Stephen looms large over a community of dedicated small-scale landlords serving th...