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V O L . X X V I I I N O. I X M AY 2 , 2 0 2 2 28 R E A L E S TAT E / C O N S T R U C T I O N / E N G I N E E R I N G F O C U S More recently, voters in Bar Harbor favored an amendment instituting a 9% cap on non-hosted vacation rentals, after many residents said a proliferation of units affected neighborhoods and drove up housing costs. Others said the cap wouldn't address the affordable housing shortage and only hurts residents who supplement their income with rentals. Some argued that the regulations would reduce the value of their investment. Bar Harbor's amendment sought to compromise by creating two designa- tions, hosted and non-hosted rentals. e cap and non-transferability provi- sions would only apply to the latter. In 2020, Bar Harbor had as many as 351 non-hosted units, representing 12.5% of all dwelling units, according to the town. Decreasing to 9% is expected to happen through the registration expira- tions and new construction. "As real estate professionals, we know the ordinance isn't going to create affordable housing," says Erica Brooks, a Realtor with the Swan Agency in Bar Harbor. "It's just going to create more impact on the vacation rental market." Brooks, who is party to a lawsuit against the town of Bar Harbor regard- ing procedural issues related to the amendment, says rising home prices have pushed much of Bar Harbor's housing stock out of reach for many buyers regardless of the industry. "A lot of those homes are $500,000, $600,000, $800,000, and not afford- able to local buyers anyway," Brooks says. "ese homes are not all of a sudden going to be $300,000." By contrast, she says, vacation rent- als can help potential buyers afford higher-priced homes. "Short-term rentals can be looked at as a strategic way to help people stay in their homes," she says. A hybrid model In Gouldsboro, a recent deal illus- trates how the market has changed. A mother-and-daughter acquired Elsa's Inn on the Harbor and plan to use it as a hybrid home and short-term rental investment, rather than a con- ventional inn. "It's going to be lucrative for the new owners to rent the rooms out, but they're not running it as a formal bed- and-breakfast," Brooks says. A 2019 survey found that 51% of Maine's Airbnb hosts said the arrangement has helped them afford their homes, with hosts keeping 97% of what they charge. In 2021, Maine Airbnb hosts earned over $180 million through the platform, the company says. Since 2010, they've earned approximately $485 million. Utilizing our working forests to meet the increasing global demand for sustainable products Expanding the potential of Maine's forest-based bioeconomy Powering new jobs, investments, and innovation with 100% renewable energy info@onenorth.net I www.onenorth.net Mass Timber I Sawmill I Light Manufacturing Aquaculture I Entrepreneurs I Renewables On the frontier of possibility NOW RECRUITING TENANTS LOCATE IN MILLINOCKET, MAINE 1,400-acre mixed-use industrial site » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 3 0 » P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F T H E S WA N A G E N C Y Erica Brooks of the Swan Agency. Short-term rentals can be looked at as a strategic way to help people stay in their homes. — Erica Brooks Swan Agency

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