In the Mainebiz print edition of July 22, story topics include affordable housing, younger home buyers and how the Aroma Joe’s chain of coffee shops picks locations.
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Housing has been a hot-button issue in the past four years, with the soaring cost of homes and escalating interest rates.
The lack of affordability and availability of homes has vexed businesses that are already struggling to find workers. If workers can’t find homes, they aren’t going to be able to say “yes” to job offers.
But we are increasingly seeing efforts to create more affordable housing.
Senior Writer Laurie Schreiber looks at affordable housing projects in the works in Scarborough, Portland, Bangor, Madison, Augusta, Bath, Lewiston and Bridgton. The state agency MaineHousing alone is involved in 86 developments that will net more than 3,500 housing units of various types. “Over the last five years, there’s been the recognition that housing is a big deal in Maine and around the country,” MaineHousing’s executive director, Daniel Brennan, says. “There seems to be a collective understanding at the federal and state level that housing is a really big deal and that we’ve got to do something.” Laurie’s story, “Home makers,” starts on Page 22.
One group that has been increasingly active in the housing market is Generation Z, those born after 1997. It seems counterintuitive, but young people are buying homes, as Senior Writer Renee Cordes writes. “Culturally, there’s a growing appreciation for homeownership among the younger crowd, driven by the stability and investment potential it offers despite market challenges,” one broker told Renee. See “‘Zoomer’ housing boom,” which starts on Page 16.
With housing growth comes retail, including coffee shops. Staff Writer Alexis Wells talks to the new president of Aroma Joe’s to see what the fast-growing chain looks at when it selects a site for a coffee shop. See “Wake up and smell the coffee,” which starts on Page 28.