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.
Maine’s housing market has been forever changed by the five years since the pandemic’s onset.
The Kennebec Valley, western Maine ski areas, and suburbs of Lewiston, Auburn and Bangor are where values have spiked most. Of course, these numbers are relative. With the exception of the ski towns, homes in these areas started with depressed values in 2020 and still sit well below the average in pricey coastal areas and statewide.
But these towns offer insight into the behaviors of homebuyers, sellers and investors during a volatile few years in Maine real estate that we are still feeling the consequences of.
The good is that home value spikes spurred a wave of economic growth in these areas. The bad is that first-time homebuyers were locked out of the market and are still struggling to gain a foothold, though an increase in inventory indicates the market is finally softening.
Explore this map to see how home values rose across Maine during the pandemic, according to Zillow data.
