I read with interest the most recent press release from the Maine Association of Realtors, reporting, among other things, the largest number of homes on the market in 45 months. A deeper look into the data may not be so comforting, that the increase may be a result of an economic squeeze on the vacation homeowner.

I have been tracking real estate listings here in Wells for a few years, separating listings of homes that I consider to be vacation properties from year-round residences. We do have a somewhat unique situation in Wells, an abundance of owned vacation properties, but I wonder if Wells is not a microcosm of the rest of the state.

At the end of July 2023, I counted 65 properties (excluding raw land) for sale, of which 20 were vacation properties with a median listing price (MLP) of $346,000, and 43 were year-round residences that included new construction, listed at a median price of $599,900. Another two were mixed-use residential and commercial properties.

As of July 28, 2024, that total had ballooned to 139 properties, of which 86 were vacation homes, while 50 were year-round residences. The MLP for vacation homes has dropped by 6%, while that for residential housing has increased by 8%. Essentially, permanent housing availability is little changed, while the number of vacation properties has quadrupled, vastly outnumbering residential listings. One might ask why so many vacation properties in Wells, and perhaps in the rest of Maine, are for sale.

Michael Smith
Wells