There are only six Maine counties in which the typical family can afford the average home, and one stands far above the rest in more ways than one. In northernmost Aroostook County, homes are affordable to households that made $25,000 less than the median household income measured between 2018 and 2022. Aroostook and the five others where most homes remain affordable — Franklin, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset and Washington — are rural regions with lower demand.
By contrast, the gap between household incomes and home values is $42,000 in York County along Maine’s southern coast. You can buy three typical homes in Aroostook for the price of just one in Cumberland County. It paints a bleak picture of affordability for many between those areas, especially first-time homebuyers.
“Our new first time homebuyer market price level has increased dramatically since the COVID epidemic, and it’s put a pinch on a lot of local folks,” Jonathan Leaver, the designated broker and co-owner of Bath-based Maine Home Realty, said. “It’s slowed down a little bit, but there’s still a huge pent up demand for that type of housing, and that price bracket.” Leaver’s company listed a $335,000 single-family home in the Portland suburb of Buxton last week that went under agreement Tuesday after 18 showings.
While still hot, that is less than the 30 to 40 showings Leaver was doing on each property during the height of the pandemic. In York County, the median family income is $99,041.