Housing
This section of the BDN aims to help readers understand Maine’s housing crisis, the volatile real estate market and the public policy behind them. Read more Housing coverage here.
Sitting just feet from a secluded, sandy beach is a home for sale that would go for millions in southern Maine.
Because it’s on a peninsula in Jonesport, this deep-water oceanfront retreat with commanding, panoramic coastal views is only $749,000. For that same price, you could get a bungalow a couple minutes from the beach in Ogunquit, or an in-town condo in Cumberland.
“It’s really the last affordable oceanfront on the eastern seaboard,” listing agent Spencer Wood said of Down East Maine. “[It] is kind of a special place for waterfront and having these legacy options in that regard, because of it being one way in, one way out.”
While prices in Washington County have increased sharply in recent years due to increased demand for a limited supply of homes, they pale in comparison to those in any other coastal county. Last month, the median home sale price in Washington County was $235,000, up from $155,000 in early 2020, according to Maine Listings data.
The Jonesport home is a year-round, cedar-shingled residence with more than 600 feet of direct ocean frontage on a quiet beach, plenty of large windows and polished interiors including a large stone fireplace. Also on the 0.7 acre lot is a 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom guest cottage that has recently been rented to generate extra income, Wood said.
There are no renovations or updates that need to be made at the property, the agent said, though a couple of minor repairs to the home’s shingles and the cottage’s garage door needed to be made after last year’s storms.
The property has been listed for sale for about six months, Wood said. Though it briefly went under contract, the sale fell through. It was relisted this month with a nearly $140,000 price cut, something a lot of coastal properties are seeing as Maine agents predict a balancing market.
Most of the interest in the property has been from out-of-state residents looking to use the home seasonally or to work year-round from here remotely, though some local families who spent their summers in this area have reached out to Wood, he said
But the same reason coastal homes Down East are still a relative bargain is the same reason it hasn’t sold yet. The property is remote, located about 10 minutes from the town of Jonesport, but is just under 2 hours from the commercial airport in Bangor.
“Everybody calls me just because of how unique and beautiful it is,” Wood said. “But it’s hard to get people to drive down to visit.”
