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.
Growing interest in Maine’s housing market, especially from out-of-state buyers, suggests the state is becoming one of the most popular places to live.
Maine ranked eighth in a list of 10 states with the highest domestic migration interest based on internet searches in the first half of 2025, according to data from U.S. News and World Report. Maine was the only New England state to make the list.
The report credits Maine’s placement in the ranking to its rugged coastal beauty and affordability compared with other states in the Northeast.
This matches what Tom Landry, who founded and owns Benchmark Real Estate in Portland, hears from out-of-state residents. However, he said most local homebuyers are people looking to move within Maine due to changing needs or preferences.
This continued interest in Maine’s housing market with limited supply keeps prices high and means listings are staying on the market for fewer days, Landry said. While that’s a good thing for sellers, as they’re more likely to get more money for their property, it makes it challenging for first-time homebuyers to enter the market.
“This steady stream of out-of-state interest — especially from high-cost or high-density areas — continues to buoy our market,” Landry said.
For example, Landry recently sold a home in Portland that his clients bought eight years ago for nearly $800,000. The home received five offers and sold for $1.3 million to an out-of-state buyer.
Data from Maine Listings show in-state buyers accounted for 69 percent of homes sold in 2024 while out-of-state buyers snatched up the remaining 31 percent of homes.
Of those, people from Massachusetts accounted for slightly more than 10 percent of the sales while New Hampshire and Florida made up another five and two percent, respectively, according to Maine Listings data.
“The majority of the people who we see moving here are from markets where it is 1.5 times or 2 or 3 times more expensive for the equivalent type of property,” Landry said. “Many times they’re feeling Maine is a bargain because if there’s a $2 million condo in downtown Portland, it would be $4 million in Boston and more in New York City.”
Most out-of-state buyers had some kind of “connection” with Maine that spurred their desire to move, Landry said. Some, for example, went to camp in Maine as a child or have family in the area while others vacationed here and never wanted to leave.
Landry said he has also seen an uptick in buyers from states with warmer climates, such as California and Texas, looking to escape rising temperatures and natural disasters like wildfires.
From February to April 2025, more than 6,000 people were looking to move into Maine versus those searching to leave the state, according to Redfin data.
Aside from Maine’s relative affordability, resilience amid climate change and appealing lifestyle, Landry said the continued prevalence of remote work in the wake of the pandemic allows people to work from anywhere.
Additionally, recent expansion and investment in the Portland area brings more job and education opportunities to the region, Landry said.
Landry pointed to Northeastern University’s forthcoming Roux Institute at the site of the former B&M Baked Beans factory in Portland and the University of New England’s medical schools as examples of two large developments that bring more professionals to the region.
“For a long time it was Unum and some of the big medical practices, but now there’s a variety of spinoffs, smaller companies and world headquarters that are moving to our state,” Landry said.
