Southern Maine’s economic engine needs worker housing
Apart from the pandemic, the past three years in southern Maine has been defined in a large part by real estate growth.
Home sales skyrocketed, to the point where there’s a very limited supply, or “inventory,” as the Realtors call it. Even the most recent home-sales numbers from the Maine Association of Realtors shows the median home price has remained at historic highs while the number of homes sold has declined from the 2020 surge. Cumberland and York counties were at the heart of the surge, with more than a third of the state’s total home sales.
At the same time, we’ve seen growth from a range of industries, and an ongoing labor shortage, with low unemployment rates.
Herein lies the conflict: Maine companies, even going into an apparent economic slowdown, are still hiring and still looking for a skilled workforce, if not top-tier managers. Finding housing for those employees is getting harder and harder, with fewer homes on the market (coupled with a median home price of $330,000) and little available on the apartment market. If you work in Portland, you’ve no doubt seen an increase in the homeless population.
I was recently at a ribbon cutting for a new condo development on Munjoy Hill. It provided just seven units, but the opening was hailed by a Portland City Council member and local officials because every bit is needed right now.
In this issue
One of the things that’s made Portland an attractive destination has been its restaurant scene. The industry had a shakeout in the pandemic, but, as Renee Cordes reports, legacy restaurants and newcomers alike are staging a comeback. See “Stirring the pot,” which starts on Page 12.
Maine has an estimated 5,000 miles of coastline, but just 20 miles of it is devoted to working waterfront. Laurie Schreiber reports on the effort to transform a valuable boatyard property in Yarmouth into a diversified working waterfront area used by boatbuilders, oyster farmers, kelp growers and recreational users. The story starts on Page 18.
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