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V O L . X X I I I N O. X V J U LY 1 0 , 2 0 1 7 16 Y ork County is becoming a residential hot spot. Existing homes are being snapped up by buyers who don't seem to mind the escalation of prices in what is clearly becoming a seller's market. Buyer activity has resulted in a tighter inventory that's producing a new-home construction boom. It's all largely thanks to downsizing baby-boomers, up-scaling millenni- als, vacationers-turned-year-round residents and out-of-staters seeking aff ordability coupled with an easy commute to urban centers. Buyers are paying a premium on asking prices. And for the fi rst time since the reces- sion, developers are building on spec, confi dent buyers will materialize. "New construction seems to be fl y- ing off the shelf," says Jeff rey Jellison, a broker and residential real estate developer in York that has a 33-home subdivision under construction. "In the last year alone, we've built and closed on seven homes." Four of those were in 2017, with two more scheduled by mid-summer, and speculative construction of four on tap. "More times than not, once you get to the point of putting up the sheetrock, a buyer shows up," Jellison says. According to the Maine Association of Realtors, an analysis based on data from Jan. 1, 2004, through Dec. 31, 2016, shows that York County accounts for nearly 18% of the single-family home sales in Maine — the equivalent of Aroostook, Franklin, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc, Somerset, Waldo and Washington counties combined. Tighter inventory of single-family homes is having an impact across Maine. A June 21 Maine Association of Realtors report says Maine saw an 8.85% decline in May sales, a refl ec- tion of the 20% decline in inventory of homes on the market compared with May 2016. Statewide, demand caused a 5.12% increase in the median sales price, from $190,250 in May 2016 to $200,000 in May 2017. Demand is fueling higher prices In York County for the period of March 1 through May 1, 748 single- family homes were sold in 2016, com- pared with 675 in 2017. Median sales prices rose 7.61% in the same period, from $230,000 to $247,500. But the trend varies throughout the county, notes Jellison, broker/owner of Century 21 Atlantic Realty in York. "It's diff erent between towns," says Jellison. In the town of York, for example, Jellison's recent inventory of included 205 single-family homes and condos. But his Ogunquit inventory was 34 properties. Still, York County has seen a surge of new home construction. Jellison, who is also part-owner of Atlantic Construction/DLJ Corp. in York, is building a 33-lot subdivision in York. Building primarily for the middle- income market, Jellison says buyers are scaling up what they're willing to pay. "Our price points were right around $395,000 at the end of last year," he says. "Now they're averaging $445,000. And by the end of the year, they'll average closer to the $500,000 mark, because of demand. If you build, they will come — that's defi nitely applying here. We're putting them up as quickly as we can." Of the 33 lots, 15%, or up to fi ve, will be set aside for lower-income buyers, in collaboration with York Housing Authority. Who's buying? Greg Gosselin, Maine Association of Realtors' 2017 president and broker- owner of the Gosselin Realty Group in York, attributes York County's popularity to location. "York is really a bedroom commu- nity of Boston," Gosselin says. " e res- idential market here was going up in the early 2000s, because people were fi nd- ing it diffi cult to buy in Massachusetts, and Maine was aff ordable and people realized it was a commute away. It got a lot of people's attention, that it wasn't just a vacation destination. In 2008, the economy collapsed and, with that, real estate followed suit. But in 2010, the market kicked back in again." at doesn't mean all buyers are coming "from away." Gosselin esti- mates Maine residents account for 70% of York County buyers, followed by Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Demographics vary, he says. Typical Maine-based buyers include retired couples downsizing and perhaps moving from countryside to town; and younger generations sizing up. York County is also big with out-of-staters looking for vacation homes suitable for later retirement. Other buyers seek invest- ment properties, capitalizing on Maine's cachet as a vacation destination. Also discussing the existing-home market, Steve Brunette, a Realtor with Better Homes & Gardens P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Homing in on York County As existing homes fly off the shelf, new construction booms B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r F O C U S Rob McKie, general manager of Atlantic Construction, left, and Jeff Jellison, a realtor with Century 21, at a construction site at the Turner Drive subdivision in York.

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