Housing Crisis

I recommend that everyone read John Abrams well-written op-ed in the July 17 edition of the Vineyard Gazette on the Island housing crisis for affordable homes. John suggests five proposals by “using what we have” to deal with our problem, all of which make imminent sense.

I, however, have a problem with his prognostication that if we take those five steps (most of which are underway) that the problem is likely to be resolved in a “few decades.”

I have a much more optimistic view that if more of us support those programs (including supporting a proposal pending before our state legislature to create a housing bank from a 2 per cent transfer tax on high end real estate sales in excess of $2 million to be used for affordable housing) that we will be well on our way to solving our problem in five to ten years.

Regardless of who is the better prognosticator, I urge you all to get involved and speed up the process.

Howard M. Miller

Tisbury

This article appears in July 24, 2026.