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.
The $7.5 million sale of a seaside mansion last week was the highest priced in Islesboro history.
The sweeping estate boasts more than 13,000 square feet of living space, 15 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms and was available for the first time in decades, according to an online listing. It was last assessed at just over $5 million and is registered to two companies, including a New York-based accounting firm.
Listing agents for the property declined an interview and would not comment on who bought the property. But the firm that listed it, Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, publicized the sale over the weekend and said it was the biggest one in the history of the island.
High-dollar sales are normal in Islesboro, an island with multiple active multimillion-dollar listings that is notable for celebrity homeowners including Kirstie Alley and John Travolta. The Waldo County island is about 14 miles long and located three miles off the coast of Lincolnville in Penobscot Bay. It has about 600 year-round residents, according to the town’s website.
The sale shows the resilience of Maine’s luxury market, with buyers still showing strong interest years out from the pandemic-era real estate boom. The ritzy coastal town of Kennebunkport also saw an all-time record sale of $12 million this January, with the home in question selling in 90 minutes. A lakeside estate listed for $6.8 million last month smashed sale records in Rangeley, which is also a Maine vacation hotspot.
That’s chiefly because Maine is seen as the most affordable U.S. state in which to buy luxury coastal real estate. And while mansions are now sitting for longer — with some seeing price cuts to keep them competitive as more inventory comes online — the consistent demand has, overall, driven luxury property prices up.
This luxury estate appears to have seen at least one price cut since it was listed, as a Portland-area radio station wrote last year that it was on the market for $8.5 million.
Built in 1908, the property on 4.2 acres boasts more than 800 feet of shore frontage, a deep water dock, a beach, a heated in-ground pool, a greenhouse and a 3-car garage, according to its online listing. All its living areas and bedrooms overlook Penobscot Bay.
The estate also has a carriage house with an apartment, according to the listing, which is a feature more luxury buyers are looking for when searching for a Maine home to accommodate family and friends or generate added rental income.
