As if in slumber, Stonecrop Ledge has stood, timeless, at the edge of the village of Middlebury. Its windows, long shuttered, clapboards in much need of paint and its crumbling stone walls, might suggest a story ended. But for Randall and Kathleen Brisson, and indeed for the house itself, this is a tale not finished but merely paused. 

The age-old dilemma: Should you buy, or should you hold off? Should you sell, or should you wait?

Vermont's real estate market is changing. Sales of homes over $1 million decreased in 2023 by 6.5% compared to the peak the year before. Buyers placed a bigger discount on homes that needed work due to high building costs and a shortage of [...]