Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I I N O. X V I 8 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E Broadband for rural areas Amid the larger stories of the pandemic were the smaller anecdotes of people who had bought their dream home in rural Waldo County or Downeast only to discover that their internet connection wasn't strong enough to manage their workload. U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, among others had been banging the drum for broad- band investment long before the pandemic, but the effort took on more urgency in the past year. In March 2021, King and the Senate Broadband Caucus urged the Biden Administration to update federal standards for high-speed broadband to reflect modern uses and align those standards across the government. "A high quality high speed connection is now a basic utility in most Mainers' lives," Peggy Schaffer, director of ConnectMaine, said at the time. Telehealth and Maine — perfect together With hospitals converting space to COVID wards and social-distancing protocols in place, elective surgery fell to the wayside. Routine visits and checkups were rele- gated to Zoom. As patients and health care providers became more comfortable with this arrangement it was obvious telehealth was not only a pandemic solu- tion, but a long-term solution as well. Not for every situation, but for many routine doctor's appointments. It's not exactly a Norman Rockwell image, but in the same way doctors once made house calls, there are some similarities to how doctors now treat patients over Zoom. It's likely a part of the health care process of the past year that will stick around. Home remodeling boom With more people spending time at home in the past 18 months, there's been a trend toward remodeling kitchens and bathrooms. Contractors are running flat out. Construction workers are in demand. Getting a new refrigerator can take six months; if you find one, you might find yourself significantly lighter in the wallet. No, that fridge did not come with Super Bowl tickets. Downtown redevelopment — counter-intuitive in the pandemic It would seem logical that with more people working from home the downtowns that are supported by office workers would be dying. By contrast, downtowns in Portland, Lewiston, Auburn and Bangor are seeing redevelopment. Portland's Bayside neighborhood has some 300 new housing units — some of which were in the works before the pandemic. Three new hotels are opening in the Old Port in Portland. A luxury hotel is proposed for the iconic Time & Temperature building in downtown Portland. Lack of homes forces Maine to finally confront housing shortage Maine has seen an influx of new residents, but many are coming from more expensive markets and have the ability to plunk down cash for a big-ticket home buy. But with Maine's median home price now at $305,000, compared to $180,000 in 2008. That's to buy a home. Finding a rental can be just as tricky. Homes marketed as "affordable" or "workforce housing" are still out of reach of many Mainers. When Maine looks at its lack of housing, it has also had to address wages. Places like Portland that have mandated minimum wage increases also deal with the lack of affordable housing on the flip side. Still, organizations like Avesta and MaineHousing continue to chip away at the short- age, developing new housing. Vacation homes became staycation homes Maine has always had second homes on the coast, on the lakes and near the ski slopes. But we saw in the past year many of these homes became primary homes during the pandemic. The effect was more of a year- round community in some places. Many schools saw increases in enrollment. Home prices skyrocket The stampede of fleeing urbanites during the pandemic had a major impact on Maine's home market, which was already tight going into 2020. But double-digit increases in the price of homes and the lack of inventory have created a feeding frenzy. The median home price reached $305,000, as of May, when sales were up 28%. Existing homes were selling in an average of six days, down from 19 days the year earlier. Particularly in southern Maine towns, sellers are routinely getting bids from a dozen prospective buyers. Never has the art of writing a persuasive letter been more important. The lack of existing homes created more demand for new houses, and the number of building permits issued this year is expected to be the highest since 2006, the peak of Maine's last building boom. M A P / C O U R T E S Y F E D E R A L C O M M U N I C AT I O N S C O M M I S S I O N With more people moving to Maine's rural areas, the need for a stronger broadband network has come to the forefront in the past year. Portland's Bayside neighborhood has seen extensive growth in recent years, and that growth continued unabated in 2020–21. The Downs in Scarborough is one of the hot spots for new home construction. In the past several months, heightened demand has led to soaring home prices and an even greater need for housing. R E N D E R I N G / G O O G L E M A P S P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R

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