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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 13 A U G U S T 2 4 , 2 0 2 0 F O C U S G R E A T E R B A N G O R / N O R T H E R N M A I N E Essential travel is limited to medi- cal, emergency, military and certain educational, work-related and trade purposes. It's the ban on non-essential travel — for shopping, picking up orders, visiting friends and family and recreation — that has put a crimp on international spending. Portland, ME dunhamgroup.com 207.773.7100 Local Knowledge. Regional Focus. Global Reach. The Dunham Group is proud to help clients like American Roots continue to write the story of Maine manufacturing, building businesses that provide opportunities and promising futures for Mainers. Call or Visit Us Online. Mainers make it better. Creating a custom design for success. When Steve White needed a non-typical financing package for a large project, other banks didn't understand. But Bar Harbor Bank & Trust was familiar with this non-standard loan structure. We looked beyond the typical solutions and created a custom product to meet Brooklin Boat Yard's needs. To see this and other success stories, go to www.barharbor.bank/success-stories. Call 207-669-6811 today to connect with our Commercial Banking team. We help businesses write their own success stories. Member FDIC Personal Banking · Business Banking · Wealth Management Over 50 locations in Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont " Tim, our banker, understands what we want, how we work, and what we're trying to do." —Steve White C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » Home sales up H oulton homes are flying off the shelf to out-of-state buyers. Days- on-market and inventory are shrinking. "I'm seeing more out-of-staters, but also people from Downeast mov- ing up," says Scot Walker, owner of Houlton's First Choice Real Estate. "There are more people interested in getting out of more-populated places and coming to rural areas." Sales are up 38% at Houlton's Mooers Realty. "When COVID happened, suddenly you didn't get as many new listings," says owner Andrew Mooers. "People said, 'We're not going to make any big moves.' They either pulled their listing or didn't list at all, so there was short- age of inventory. That created pres- sure. Suddenly, things that were on the market for a while flew off the shelf." Reasons for buying? Perceived safety from the coronavirus, geo- graphic space, excellent broadband access for remote work, cheaper prices. Houlton's average house price is $71,000, compared with Portland's $221,000 for the same square- footage, says Southern Aroostook Development Corp.'s Jon McLaughlin. "We always complain about our geography, that it's hard to attract business," McLaughlin says. But with the pandemic, "This is the first time being rural is in our favor. People want to come to a rural area." AVERAGE HOME PRICES $71,000 $221,000 Houlton Portland

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