Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 13 O C T O B E R 5 , 2 0 2 0 Adam Lee Chairman of the Board at Lee Auto Malls Dr. Edison Liu President and CEO of Jackson Laboratory Kristen Miale President of Good Shepherd Food Bank Lindsay Skilling CEO of Gifford's Ice Cream Luke Holden Founder and CEO of Luke's Lobster Tim Hebert Founder and Chairman of S TARC Systems MEET THE PANEL YOU'RE INVITED! REGISTER TODAY AT MAINEBIZ.BIZ/CEO20 SP ONSORED BY 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes Six Maine CEOs will each share 10 ideas on their keys to success in business and in life. Hear from a panel of Maine CEOs as they share their personal stories of success and learning experiences. October 8 11:00am–Noon Zoom Webinar Housing market still bullish B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n M aine's housing stock remains hot — you can say despite the pandemic or because of the pandemic. However you look at it, sales of existing homes nudged up slightly in August, though the median home price surged by 17%. We've been hearing anecdotal information for the past several months that brokers were fielding calls from Boston, New York, Texas and so on from people eager to leave their cramped city life and move to Maine (or other states dominated by rural areas). There have been bidding wars and some are buying places sight unseen. Even before these new residents started buying up properties, housing inventory was already tight. Last year, Maine hit a 12-year high for building permits, according to U.S. Census data, and this year is not far off of last year's pace — even with a momentary pause in March. There were 4,760 permits issued last year. While this can't compare to the building boom of the mid- 2000s, which peaked at 8,765 permits in 2005, it's further evidence that housing is in demand. Single family homes are the most common permit issued. But there's also been steady demand for properties with five or more units. Last year, building permits were issued allowing for 1,061 units, com- pared to 863 units in 2018 and 627 units in 2017. Through July, 2,916 building permits have been issued, versus 2,991 in the same months a year ago. March, when the pandemic shut down municipal offices statewide, was the only month that was significantly off the pace from a year ago. Economist Charles Lawton, a principal at Planning Decisions Inc., says the numbers are not surprising. "Maine's in an extraordinary position because it's close to Boston and we have no inventory," says Lawton. The recession of 2008-09 not only cooled off the housing boom of the mid-2000s, but also sent many of the construction workers packing for other mar- kets. Now with in-migration, the work-from-home trend and the demand from out-of-state buyers, housing is again a top priority. And home builders are working to meet that demand. "We're playing catch-up now," Lawton says. That's putting pressure on home values. Maine's median price for existing homes shot up 17.39% in August, to $270,000, according to the Maine Association of Realtors. A year ago, it was $230,000. Nearly any homeowner watching this trend has no doubt checked Zillow for the estimated value of his or her current home. I've heard more than one person say, "I could never afford my house today." B I Z M O N E Y S O U R C E : U.S. Census 2020 BUILDING PERMITS THROUGH JULY, MAINE BUILDING PERMITS ISSUED IN MAINE, BY YEAR January February March April May June July '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 Year-to-date: 2,916 vs. 2,991 in 2019 2020 2019 357 234 618 378 431 396 380 254 318 481 421 607 466 566 2005: 8,765 2011: 2,299 2019: 4,760

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