A year ago, new construction remained virtually nonexistent in Orange and Windsor counties, further ailing a major housing crunch. The situation worsened, planning agencies put their heads together, homebuyers grew exasperated, and still no buildings went up. This spring, homes are shooting up by the dozen, although-it appears they will make only a small dent in the present shortage.

"If you look at the number of units being built, that's a substantial number of units, but it doesn't even touch the need here," said Shelly Hadfield, director of the Upper Valley Work Force Housing Task Force.

Last fall, towns within the Upper Valley carried out a housing needs assessment and determined that there was a deficiency of 3,600 units in the area, according to Hadfield, who reported the finding to local businesses and planning boards in a summit last November.

Hadfield thinks this might have helped jumpstart some of the new construction projects in place now. In Quechee, 22 lowincome rentals units are going up and new condos are being built for the first time in 10 years in the Quechee Lakes Development. Across the river in Enfield, 63 units are being built, along with 30 in Lebanon and 34 in White River Junction.Last year's housing needs assessment found an overall dire need of permanent housing for all income levels, particularly for individuals earning $50,000 or less. Responding to this identified need, Twin Pines Housing Trust in White River junction launched projects at three sites - Hartford, White River junction, and Wilder.

Gretchen Rittenhouse, director, said some of the sites would have clusters of multi-family units or a mix of single- and multi-family homes.

Twin Pines is unable to lease out any of the houses until the completion of construction because transactions are based on a family's income level at the time of the deal. But the organization hopes to move along the building process as quickly as possible. Rittenhouse said all three sites may contain some transitional residencies for individuals who are homeless for a variety of reasons.

These will be rented out for periods between a few days and several months, depending on each situation. Hadfield said other transitional housing is under way with 10 units in each Enfield and Lebanon. She said these projects include onebedroom apartments and larger homes, all within walking distance of schools and downtowns. Last year's housing needs assessment reported a high number of individuals in emergency-type situations needing a place to stay.

Hadfield estimated that some of these were poverty cases; others were domestic abuse victims or even young people getting a foot in the workforce. But the need from low-income buyers or renters should not overshadow the same demand of those in a different income bracket, she added. Even those willing to shell out $1 million for a home have had trouble finding anything in the past several years.

The market for high-end homes appears to be as tight as other housing demands, with very little land available for new construction and most contractors and electricians tied up a year or more with larger development projects.

"It's not just low-income housing we need, either. We need everything from very low-income to middle-income," said Hadfield. She reported that the present total deficiency could be half -filled by rental unit construction and half-filled by permanent homes catering to both wealth and average income levels.

"Communities are just so scared of housing projects," said Hadfield, acknowledging fears of increased taxes and burdens on school enrollments. But in the Upper Valley, there's not much choice at this point. In the past 10 years, job growth ballooned while virtually no housing became available to balance the population influx.

"There's a negative growth or sprawl sentiment here in the Upper Valley. But we're (task force) not saying we want to grow. What we're saying is that we don't have the infrastructure for existing businesses," said Hadfield, adding that she has heard about several businesses choosing not to locate in the area because of a lack of workforce housing.

The real estate market has minimal inventory right now, with homes selling within three days of entering the market, said Cheryl Brush of Mosely Associates. The average list price last summer was $463,000. Buyers have been paying roughly 97 percent of the list price in the past year, She said most firsttime buyers come to her with budgets between $80,000 and $125,000, but they are in store for a shock. Many have to purchase properties up to 40 miles away if they plan to work in the Upper Valley.

"The problem is that there arc very few homes in that range," said Brush. Starter houses in the area, cost upwards of $200,000, and most locals simply cannot afford such prices.

"The demand for housing in the Upper Valley is extremely crucial," said Hank Huntington, owner of Paragon Homes, Inc, a dealer of modular and manufactured homes in Wilder. In fact, many cannot even afford modulars, which cost a minimum of $140,00 in the Upper Valley.