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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 F E B R UA R Y 5 , 2 0 1 8 F O C U S G R E AT E R P O R T L A N D BerryDunn's team of seasoned professionals puts its assurance, tax and consulting know-how to work for you in a way that fits your operational style. We leverage our industry knowledge to help you make informed decisions and confidently capitalize on the opportunities that drive value. Gain trust. Visit berrydunn.com or call 800.432.7202. trust GAINED Office vacancy rate in Portland at 10-year low The direct vacancy rate of 4.41% in Greater Portland's office market is a 10-year low for the market. The Portland market, which consists of 12 million square feet, had positive absorption of nearly 364,000 square feet last year. Several new buildings were constructed in 2017, most of which are fully occu- pied. On the East End, a 42,000-square-foot building at 16 Middle St., housing Tilson Technology and other tenants, is among the new offerings. The market was boosted by additional space in Yarmouth, where Patriot Insurance opened a new headquarters on U.S. Route 1. MaineHealth's purchase of One Riverfront Plaza in Westbrook helped boost the market's occupancy rates as well. Greater Portland's office market is defined as Portland, Westbrook, Scarborough, South Portland, Cumberland, Falmouth and Yarmouth. S O U R C E : CBRE|The Boulos Co. ortland's business landscape continues to be dominated by the growth of its publicly traded companies and by real estate growth, and the inter- section between those forces. Maine's largest publicly traded company, IDEXX Laboratories Inc., plans to expand its Westbrook campus, while WEX Inc., Maine's second-largest public company, will move into a newly built headquarters on the Portland waterfront. The area around WEX's future headquarters is booming, as Senior Writer Renee Cordes writes on Page 15. While office inventory is in short supply, entrepreneurs are carving out areas for coworking spaces, as reported by Staff Writer Maureen Milliken on Page 12. S TA R T I N G O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » P CUMBERLAND COUNTY STATEWIDE Fewer houses sold, at higher prices Cumberland County had a decline in housing units sold in 2017, but buyers paid more. Number of units Number of units 4,252 17,507 Median sales price Median sales price $265,000 $189,400 $285,000 $200,000 2016 2016 2016 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 Number of units Number of units 4,096 17,633 –3.67% +0.72% +7.55% +5.6% S O U R C E : Maine Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors Median sales price Median sales price

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