Latest news with #VPI
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Decline in preschool access continues in Virginia, despite legislative efforts
(Getty Images) Virginia has provided thousands of children access to preschool over a year's time, but the commonwealth continues to trail other states, which are expanding services and providing more kids a chance at early learning. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research's State of Preschool Yearbook, Virginia has dropped by three spots to 26th in the country in offering preschool access for 3-year-olds, but maintained its 30th place ranking for preschool access for 4-year-olds. Last year, nearly 10,000 parents in the commonwealth were seeking early childhood care and education services, primarily in the southern and central regions. However, Virginia has made strides enrolling an additional 824 students to its Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) and Mixed Delivery programs. VPI is offered for free for four-year-old children and Mixed Delivery offers funding to private, community-based preschools to serve children at risk of entering school without the necessary skills. Angela Mancipe, a parent of two from Chesterfield County, said finding a preschool spot for her oldest child during the pandemic was a challenge for her and her husband, considering the waitlist amid nationwide health concerns. While her son was able to land a spot six months later, Mancipe's life changed after losing her job and becoming pregnant with her daughter, who was also able to be enrolled in a preschool program. Mancipe recently accepted a part-time assistant teacher position at her daughter's preschool to help bring in some income, which is housed within a church daycare. She's fearful of losing her daughter's spot, saying that when they were first searching for a preschool for her, some of their calls went unanswered. Like many families, the cost of their children's care and early education is also a persistent challenge. 'It's insane how much it costs to have your child in daycare,' Mancipe said. 'We are very fortunate when it comes to being able to even live off of one income, but to pay double your mortgage to have your children in a safe and well cared for facility with good providers where they'll get quality care and education, it shouldn't be double your mortgage.' The National Institute for Early Education Research said in a statement that state initiatives 'propelled' early childhood education in the United States to 'historic highs' during the 2023-2024 school year, as preschools recovered from the impacts of the pandemic. 'Yet, progress has been highly uneven from state to state. While many states advanced by enrolling more children in quality preschool, others lagged, funding no preschool or only low quality programs,' researchers stated. 'As federal cutbacks in education and elsewhere are being implemented, it is notable that federal COVID-19 recovery funding played a crucial role in sustaining and advancing preschool, and other federal funds underpin state programs and decrease inequality among the states in access to quality preschool education.' According to the report, the institute determined the commonwealth's Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) program met five of the 10 quality standard benchmarks, and Mixed Delivery programs, which offer services for infants to preschoolers, met four out of 10. Virginia met the benchmarks for both programs by conducting a process to observe student and teacher behaviors in the classroom, meeting the staff-to-child ratio of 1:10 for 3- and 4-year-olds, and following a 'comprehensive, aligned, supported and culturally sensitive' set of development standards. The programs fell short of the requirements, including: that the lead teacher must have a minimum of a bachelor's degree and specialized training in Pre-K; the assistant teacher must have a minimum of a Child Development Associate (CDA) degree; and the teachers must receive at least 15 hours per year of in-service professional development and training, individualized annual professional development plans and coaching. Allison Gilbreath, senior director of policy and programs at Voices for Virginia's Children, said in a statement to the Mercury that the report indicating the decline in preschool access is concerning, given that Virginia's two preschool programs enrolled nearly 25,000 children last year. 'Investments in four-year-old classrooms are important — but they're only one piece of the puzzle,' Gilbreath said. 'To truly support families and providers, we need a coordinated early childhood system that strengthens access and sustainability across all age groups. A holistic approach is essential to meet the needs of children from birth to five.' With the uncertainty regarding the national climate lawmakers and advocates are concerned that federal government funding cuts could jeopardize other early childhood care and education initiatives. 'I am very concerned that progress made at the state level could be affected by cuts at the federal level,' said Del. David Bulova, D-Fairfax. 'Early childhood care and education sets the foundation for years of learning and becoming a productive member of society. It is an investment worth protecting and expanding.' Bulova carried a successful budget amendment to address the early childhood care and education program waitlist in January. Although the amendment did not eliminate the waitlist for the programs entirely, Bulova said it did make significant progress by reducing the Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP) waitlist by 5,437 since the start of the year. The waitlist currently stands at 3,278. Mancipe said she and other parents appreciate the legislature's work but would like to see it go further. One area she recommended lawmakers continue to address is creating a stable, adequate funding for childcare to support families and providers due to the high costs and staffing shortages. 'We are very thankful for their commitment for what they are doing and the efforts they are making,' Mancipe said. 'I think we still have a long way to go.' During this year's two-month legislative session, the General Assembly and Gov. Glenn Youngkin approved proposals directing the state to develop a plan for mental health screenings and services for children under the age of 5, clarifying how publicly funded early childhood programs are excluded from specific oversight requirements and expanding the Early Childhood Care and Education Commission by one member, bringing the total to 32. The commission is tasked with providing recommendations for and tracking progress on financing Virginia's comprehensive birth-to-five early childhood care and education system, or VQB5, to improve children's school readiness and expand access to parents and support providers. Lawmakers attempted to launch a $25 million Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program to expand access to childcare. However the amendment to the biennium budget measure was vetoed by Youngkin earlier this month. Youngkin said while the commonwealth has made 'historical investments' in early learning and child care this biennium, the effort is best considered 'in a bill and at a smaller scale to determine program effectiveness and scalability.' Another failed measure would have strengthened incentives for childcare providers to remain open during 'nontraditional' working hours to better serve health care professionals, hospitality workers, first responders, military families, and others with unique needs, said Del. Phil Hernandez, D-Norfolk, who carried the bill. 'There was strong interest in this bill, but it did not advance due to the fiscal impact. We'll return to this issue in the future,' Hernandez said in a statement to the Mercury. Other proposals that failed to pass during the short session earlier this year would have increased funding for kindergarten readiness programs, expanded child care to certain qualifying child care providers at no charge and improved retention and recruitment of child care educators designating them as a priority group for the CCSP. Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, D-Alexandria, who carried the retention bill, said as a mother of a 2-year-old she understands the challenge of finding affordable, quality childcare. 'I want all Virginia families to be able to access affordable, quality early childhood education and care from birth. While we are not there yet, we have also made a lot of progress,' Bennett Parker said in a statement. She said one area the NIEER report does not cover is the additional 1,000 subsidy slots lawmakers added over two years in the biennium budget. One program that concerns advocates and lawmakers is Head Start. This program aims to provide all-inclusive education, health, and nutrition services to children whose families fall below the federal poverty line, which is currently around $30,000 for a family of four. However, on Wednesday, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. testified that President Donald Trump's budget would not eliminate the program. Yet some regional offices have been closed and funding has been frozen. 'Protecting and expanding Head Start is a foundational investment,' said Dawn Ault, executive director of the Virginia Head Start Association. 'Any reduction or disruption would create childcare deserts where working parents would face impossible choices: leaving the workforce, relying on unreliable care, or falling into deeper financial hardship.' Head Start was also one of the programs recommended to be eliminated by the authors of Project 2025, a conservative plan for how the country should operate if a Republican won the recent presidential election. In 2021, the authors wrote that the program negatively affected children and that the federal government should discontinue it. However, Ault said an investment in Head Start benefits families and taxpayers. According to the Virginia Head Start Association, Virginia offers 52 Head Start and Early Head Start programs. 'For every $1 invested in Head Start, we see up to $9 in long-term returns,' Ault said. 'That's not frivolous spending — it's smart, conservative investing in our future.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Al Etihad
14-05-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
Abu Dhabi real estate market builds growth across the board
15 May 2025 00:21 MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)Abu Dhabi's real estate market recorded steady and broad-based growth in the first quarter of 2025, with gains across residential, office, retail and hospitality segments, according to ValuStrat's latest market ValuStrat Price Index (VPI) for the residential sector rose 2.1% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and 7.2% year-on-year (YoY) to reach 125.6 points, based on a baseline of 100 in Q1 outperformed apartments, appreciating 2.7% QoQ and 9.7% YoY to 134.7 points. Apartment prices rose 1.5% QoQ and 4.5% YoY to 116.9 average home value in Abu Dhabi reached Dh10,226 per square metre, with apartments averaging Dh10,979 per m2 and villas Dh8,407 per villa submarkets, Saadiyat Island led annual capital gains for villas, up 21.2%, followed by Al Raha 8.2% and Mohammed Bin Zayed City 4.7%.Rental values mirrored sales performance, with the residential rental VPI rising 2.2% QoQ and 9% YoY to 121 rents grew 3.4% QoQ and 11.6% YoY, while villa rents remained flat quarterly but were up 6.3% annually. The average gross rental yield stood at 7.8%, with apartments yielding 8.3% and villas 6.7%.The average annual apartment asking rents in Abu Dhabi City hit Dh114,000. Studio apartments averaged Dh63,000; one-beds Dh89,000; two-beds Dh125,000; and three-beds Dh180, Reef (3.4%), Al Bandar (2.8%), and Al Muneera (2.5%) saw the highest quarterly rental increases. Market Activity and SupplyThe first quarter saw the handover of 90 apartments and 189 villas, representing 2% of the expected 2025 residential pipeline of 13,941 units. Major projects progressed across Saadiyat Island, Zayed City, Ghantoot and Masdar City, reflecting developer off-plan sales slowed due to fewer new launches, average prices and transaction values rose, according to the property transaction volumes dipped 33.6% QoQ but climbed 13.6% YoY. The average price for ready homes reached Dh12,335 per m2, up 5.8% YoY, while the average transaction size surged 28.9% QoQ to Dh 2.6 transactions dominated activity, accounting for 2,846 deals totalling Dh9 billion, compared to 1,375 cash transactions worth Dh5 billion. Strong Gains Across Property SegmentsAbu Dhabi's office market remained resilient amid high occupancy and rental growth. Asking prices for office units climbed 6% QoQ to Dh2.25 million, while rents in core commercial districts jumped 8% QoQ and 31.8% YoY. Occupancy in these areas reached 90.5%. The city's total office supply stood at 3.9 million m2 of Gross Leasable Area (GLA).Key additions this year include the HB Office Tower on Yas Island and Masdar City Square, the latter set to contribute 50,000 m2 of new space in Q2 continued to benefit from strong footfall and tenant sales. In Q1 2025, shopping centre stock totalled 1.95 million m2 of GLA in UAE's e-commerce market is forecast to surpass Dh48.5 billion by 2028, with online sales expected to make up 15.3% of the total retail hospitality sector posted impressive growth, buoyed by tourism, the report occupancy in Abu Dhabi averaged 86.9% in the first two months of 2025, a 1.2% increase YoY. The city welcomed 800,000 hotel guests by February, with 5.2 million visitors in total during 2024 – a 28.7% annual average room rate rose 37.1% to Dh683, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) jumped 38.7% to Department of Culture and Tourism expects total hotel supply to exceed 50,000 keys by 2030, up from 34,372 in February 2025. Upcoming additions include the Mondrian Hotel in Downtown Abu Dhabi and the Waldorf Astoria, set to open at the former Anantara Eastern Mangroves site, offering 167 rooms with views of Mangrove National Park.
Arabian Business
02-05-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
Soaring population increases Dubai real estate demand
Dubai's rising population is sending up demand for real estate in the city, according to ValuStrat analysis. Housing demand reached unprecedented levels, said Haider Tuaima, Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Research at ValuStrat. By the end of March 2025, Dubai's population had risen to 3.92m, with 89,695 new residents added in just the first three months of the year, an average of approximately 1,000 people per day. Dubai real estate demand For perspective, the entire net population increase for 2024 was 170,478 people, averaging less than 500 per day. The estimated number of new homes expected to be delivered this year stands at 61,580 units. Of these, 19 per cent, nearly 12,000 apartments and villas, were completed in the first quarter alone. This is not unexpected, said ValuStrat, considering that just over half of last year's projected deliveries were ultimately handed over. Securing an affordable home to buy or rent is becoming more difficult. According to the ValuStrat Price Index (VPI), which tracks the residential market, there has been consistent annual growth in capital values across all segments. Apartment prices have risen by 21.4 per cent, while villa prices have increased by 30.3 per cent. Rental rates have also surged, with villa rents up by 5.1 per cent and apartment rents rising by 10 per cent. Demand for office space in Dubai remained strong, driven by sustained economic growth and business expansion. The VPI tracking the office sector showed an impressive 29.1 per cent annual increase in capital values and a 20.2 per cent increase in asking rents. The hospitality and industrial sectors also sustained positive growth. Haider Tuaima said the only downside this quarter was the decline in residential sales, both off-plan and ready properties, as well as a decrease in mortgage applications, though this is only when compared to the previous quarter.
Zawya
01-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
ValuStrat report: Growing population bolsters demand in an increasingly unaffordable residential market
The latest Dubai 1st quarter real estate review report from ValuStrat, a globally recognised consultancy specialising in multi-sector advisory services, has revealed insightful dynamics in Dubai's real estate market. The report comprehensively analyses the residential, commercial, and hospitality sectors and underscores a market showing robust growth and market activity. Haider Tuaima, Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Research, shares his synopsis of Dubai's real estate market. According to him, housing demand has reached unprecedented levels. By the end of March 2025, Dubai's population had risen to 3.92 million, with 89,695 new residents added in just the first three months of the year, an average of approximately 1,000 people per day. For perspective, the entire net population increase for 2024 was 170,478 people, averaging less than 500 per day. The estimated number of new homes expected to be delivered this year stands at 61,580 units. Of these, 19%, nearly 12,000 apartments and villas, were completed in the first quarter alone. This is not unexpected, considering that just over half of last year's projected deliveries were ultimately handed over. Securing an affordable home to buy or rent is becoming more difficult. According to the ValuStrat Price Index (VPI), which tracks the residential market, there has been consistent annual growth in capital values across all segments. Apartment prices have risen by 21.4%, while villa prices have increased by 30.3%. Rental rates have also surged, with villa rents up by 5.1% and apartment rents rising by 10%. Demand for office space in Dubai remained strong, driven by sustained economic growth and business expansion. The VPI tracking the office sector showed an impressive 29.1% annual increase in capital values and a 20.2% increase in asking rents. The hospitality and industrial sectors also sustained positive growth. He concludes that the only downside this quarter was the decline in residential sales, both off-plan and ready properties, as well as a decrease in mortgage applications, though this is only when compared to the previous quarter. This trend is neither unprecedented nor unexpected and may be attributed to a mismatch between supply and demand, potentially leading to a market correction at some point. To learn more about ValuStrat's real estate market capabilities and our research outputs, please visit ValuStrat's Insights Webpage. About ValuStrat: ValuStrat is an international consulting group providing Advisory, Valuations, Research, Transaction Advisory, Due Diligence and Industrial Consulting services, working across various industry sectors. With 45+ years of experience, a network of 14 offices in 5 countries and a client base of 1,000 corporations across the Middle East, UK, Europe and Africa, ValuStrat assists diverse clients, from governments, multinationals, large local corporations and financial institutions to startups, SMEs and family businesses. For Valuation services, it is the preferred service provider to over 120 financial institutions across the EMEA region.
Khaleej Times
10-03-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Dubai's residential property prices see slowest gain in 20 months
Dubai's residential property prices witnessed the slowest gains in 20 months in February, as deliveries rise and the market matures, data showed on Monday. The ValuStrat Price Index (VPI) saw its slowest capital growth in 20 months, with monthly villa valuations up 2 per cent, down from a peak of 2.7 per cent, and apartments rising 1.2 per cent, down from a high of 2 per cent. The VPI regularly marks to market a sample of properties that represent more than 90 per cent of the Dubai residential and commercial markets. February 2025 saw the VPI reach 207.5 points, marking a 1.6 per cent monthly increase and a 26.5 per cent rise year on year. Villa values climbed to 269.6 points, while apartments reached 167 points, all benchmarked to a base of 100 points in January 2021. Villa capital values grew 2 per cent monthly, with an annual increase of 30.8 per cent. The strongest annual performers included villas in Jumeirah Islands (42.3 per cent), Palm Jumeirah (41.8 per cent), Emirates Hills (31.2 per cent), and The Meadows (29.9 per cent). Meanwhile, the lowest gains were recorded in Mudon (10.5 per cent), which has remained relatively stable for the sixth consecutive month. Dubai's freehold villas are, on average, valued 57 per cent above the previous market peak and 160 per cent higher than post-pandemic levels. Apartment prices rose by 1.2 per cent monthly, down from 1.4 per cent in January, recording an annual growth of 22.2 per cent. The highest yearly capital gains were seen in The Greens (28.9 per cent), Palm Jumeirah (26.3 per cent), Dubailand Residence Complex (25.7 per cent), The Views (25.4 per cent), and Town Square (25.1 per cent). In contrast, the lowest capital value increases were recorded in International City (15.4 per cent) and Dubai Sports City (17.9 per cent). Apartment valuations are, on average, 9 per cent below the previous market peak but 65 per cent above post-pandemic levels. Off-plan vs ready homes Oqood (contract) registrations for off-plan homes grew 22.2 per cent monthly and 59.5 per cent on an annual basis, representing 70.8 per cent of all home sales in February. The volume of ready secondary-home transactions also increased by 12.8 per cent monthly and 9.8 per cent annually. There were 31 transactions for ready properties priced over Dh30 million, situated in Dubai Hills Estate, Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills, Jumeirah Bay Island, Business Bay, Bluewaters Island, District One, and Jumeirah Golf Estates. February 2025 saw Emaar (17.5 per cent), Damac (12.7 per cent), Sobha (4.8 per cent), Nakheel (4.3 per cent), Dubai Properties (4.3 per cent) and Samana (2.6 per cent) lead the developer sales charts overall. Top off-plan locations transacted included projects in Jumeirah Village Circle (7.1 per cent), The Valley (6.5 per cent), Damac Island City (5.5 per cent), Emaar South (5 per cent), and Dubailand Residence Complex (4.9 per cent). Dubai Silicon Oasis broke its individual record with the highest number of off-plan homes traded in one month. Meanwhile, most ready homes sold were in Jumeirah Village Circle (9.9 per cent), Business Bay (7.4 per cent), International City (5.6 per cent), Dubai Marina (5.4 per cent), Downtown Dubai (5.2 per cent), and Jumeirah Lake towers (3.3 per cent). Emirates Hills broke its individual record with the highest number of ready homes traded in one month.
