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.
A Portland nonprofit that provides affordable housing unveiled two finished properties in Gray that will be sold to middle-income homebuyers as part of a new program.
Avesta Housing, the largest nonprofit affordable housing provider in northern New England, launched its “A Path Forward” program last year to help more people previously priced out of the southern Maine housing market achieve homeownership.
The first two houses the nonprofit bought and renovated are the single-story homes on Gollyer Brook Road in Gray. Each unit has 940 square feet of living space, three bedrooms, one bathroom, a full basement and attached one-car garages.
Each of the homes is listed for $218,000, which is less than half of the price of an average home in Gray, which now rests at nearly $500,000, according to Zillow. The average price for a home in Cumberland County, meanwhile, has risen to more than $561,000.
Nicole DiGeronimo, Avesta Housing’s director of homeownership and financial counseling, said the organization created the program after listening to the hundreds of people who take Avesta’s Homebuyer Education class express frustration with how quickly home prices in the region have skyrocketed.
“That’s what prompted us to step in and be part of the solution,” DiGeronimo said.
The organization has already received 10 inquiries about the homes since it began accepting online applications on Monday, DiGeronimo said. The application portal for the homes will be open through Aug. 14.
The homes must be owner-occupied and will only be sold to buyers who earn 65 percent or less of the area median income, which the Department of Housing and Urban Development sets annually.
A single person making 65 percent of area median income for Cumberland County would earn $59,100 annually, or $67,500 for a two-person household and $76,000 for three people.
Avesta’s program is unique because it focuses on buying and renovating existing homes rather than building new, DiGeronimo said. This is because there are homes on the market that are affordable to middle-income earners, but the properties often need significant repairs or updates that buyers can’t afford in addition to the purchase price.
“We’re not flipping homes and putting in granite countertops,” DiGeronimo said. “We’re making sure that that home is safe, stable and sustainable for the homeowner so that they don’t have to worry about those costs.”
Renovations to the properties, funded by Bangor Savings Bank and Mascoma Bank, began last fall. The units have been given energy-efficient electrical and plumbing fixtures and new kitchen appliances. The roofs, porches and shared driveway have also been renovated, according to the nonprofit.
With the first two homes complete, Avesta is searching for new homes to renovate and sell to middle-income homebuyers. DiGeronimo said the organization will likely focus on homes in Cumberland, York and Oxford counties while the program gets off the ground, but eventually hopes to expand statewide.
