Home sale prices and values continue to climb in Maine, but there are still deals to be found in today’s tight market.
You may just have to search farther afield for them or settle for a fixer-upper.
We’ve rounded up four unique single-family homes around the state priced at less than $333,000, which is the mark that would be affordable at the average Maine household income. What they have in common is that they either need repairs or updates or they’re located off the beaten path away from major job markets.
A “blast from the past” on 60 acres
$299,000, 454 Lake Shore Road, Madawaska
The main attraction of this mid-century modern home on Long Lake is its 60 acre lot: 45 of those acres are wooded, 10 are leased out to farmers and the remaining 5 are where the house and its private pond sit.
“It has a big pond that’s 14 feet deep you can stock with fish, with a custom bridge to an island in the middle of the pond with a gazebo on the island,” listing agent Matt Dechaine, a broker with Crown Lakes Realty, said. “It’s pretty neat, with beautiful views of the lake.”
The home itself was built in 1976 and appears to have been frozen in time. It has shag carpets, geometric shapes and clean woodwork associated with that time and mid-century modern style still intact. There is even a built-in blender that pops up from the kitchen counter.
“It was built to a level of extravagance people hadn’t really seen here,” Dechaine said.
Gadgets and gags aside, a new owner might need to be fairly handy if they want to bring the 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom home into the 21st century and fix its rotted porch. But the home is very structurally sound with a recently updated roof and furnace, the agent said.
“It’s absolutely turnkey and move-in ready,” Dechaine said, “as long as you don’t mind 1976.”
This rare midcoast farmhouse
$329,000, 18 Smart Road, Belfast
The midcoast Maine housing market is extremely tight. Inventory is low, and prices keep rising. That makes this reasonably priced property in desirable Belfast a rarity, listing agent Dick Butler said.
It’s a spacious 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom farmhouse that sits on 22 acres, a mixture of woodlands and open fields, near Upper Mason Pond. It’s around a seven-minute drive to the center of town and the ocean.
A unique feature of the property is its in-ground swimming pool, and there is potential income in a lot on one of the open fields that was rented by a mobile home owner until recently. The lot has its own septic system and utilities, including water and electricity, already set up.
“We’ve had an awful lot of interest, mostly small families,” Butler, an associate broker with Realty of Maine, said of the property. “There’s some cosmetic issues, but it’s pretty good value.”
This waterfront Down East home
$228,000, 8 Leighton Point Road, Pembroke
This 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home is minutes from the ocean all the way down east in west Pembroke. The 2,400 square foot home was built in the 1850s, but it’s been well-maintained and the kitchen was recently updated, according to listing agent Britani Holloway, a broker with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services.
The home “exudes country charm,” Holloway said. It still has many of its historic features intact, such as its wide moldings, pumpkin pine flooring and an original staircase. Other features include a sun porch, walk-in pantry and a small shed on the one-acre property that could serve as an artist’s studio or garden shed, Holloway said.
The property is remote at 20 minutes from Eastport or 30 minutes from the crossing into New Brunswick through Calais. The home is one of five available for sale in Pembroke right now, but only one of two that the average family could finance, per Zillow.
A fixer-upper in central Maine
$210,000, 93 Railroad Street, Clinton
This 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom home in Clinton is a classic, early 1900s New England farmhouse, complete with the red siding and white, lacy trim. Though it has a leak and some rooms are unfinished, listing agent Jami Farmer said the property has good bones and some charming features, such as its woodstove and fireplace. It’s also spacious at 2,112 square feet.
The home is private but conveniently located, Farmer, a realtor with Rizzo Mattson, said. It’s right by Clinton’s elementary school and library, an easy commute to Waterville, and is less than an hour from Augusta and Bangor.
Though it needs some care, Farmer said this would be a good first home or homestead for a young family in today’s trying market. There aren’t many options in the area; it’s the cheapest of three homes available on the market in Clinton.
“I mean, trailers are going for [$225,000] to $250,000 all over [Maine],” Farmer said.
