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Old 07-07-2014, 10:19 PM
 
Location: Lebanon, OH
7,052 posts, read 8,873,870 times
Reputation: 14693

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Quote:
Originally Posted by WhoFanMe View Post
There were 13 single family homes sold in Eastport over the last 12 months, there are 85 on the market now. It would take 78 months (6.5 years) to go through that inventory.
How many homes were put on the market in the last 12 months? In 6.5 years there will probably be over 100 homes on the market. Do mobile homes count? The mobile home across from my dad's cousin was bought by the couple that own the candy store.

When I was a kid there was over 2000 people living in Eastport, now it's only about 1300.
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Old 07-08-2014, 12:47 AM
 
Location: Caribou, Me.
6,928 posts, read 5,862,917 times
Reputation: 5251
Quote:
Originally Posted by woxyroxme View Post
How many homes were put on the market in the last 12 months? In 6.5 years there will probably be over 100 homes on the market. Do mobile homes count? The mobile home across from my dad's cousin was bought by the couple that own the candy store.

When I was a kid there was over 2000 people living in Eastport, now it's only about 1300.

I was shocked to learn that a century ago there was over 5,000 people living in Eastport. The same massive shrinkage has happened in Calais (from 7,600 to less than half that today).
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Old 07-08-2014, 03:28 AM
 
Location: Maine's garden spot
3,466 posts, read 7,200,420 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maineguy8888 View Post
I was shocked to learn that a century ago there was over 5,000 people living in Eastport. The same massive shrinkage has happened in Calais (from 7,600 to less than half that today).
Calais appears to be in worse shape than Eastport. So much so, that the Vacant Building Festival will probably be moving up there.
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Old 07-08-2014, 08:21 AM
 
Location: Lebanon, OH
7,052 posts, read 8,873,870 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maineguy8888 View Post
I was shocked to learn that a century ago there was over 5,000 people living in Eastport.
Back in those days there were all kinds of sardine canneries along the shore, my great aunt worked at Holmes when it was the last one left back in the 1970s until it closed. It burned down in the early 1980s and the USCG building is now on the old site.
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Old 07-08-2014, 09:51 AM
 
Location: Gorham, Maine
1,973 posts, read 5,201,615 times
Reputation: 1505
Quote:
Originally Posted by woxyroxme View Post
How many homes were put on the market in the last 12 months? In 6.5 years there will probably be over 100 homes on the market. Do mobile homes count? The mobile home across from my dad's cousin was bought by the couple that own the candy store.

When I was a kid there was over 2000 people living in Eastport, now it's only about 1300.
Today I see 89 Homes Available (with list prices between $16,000 and $625,000) of which 5 were mobile homes. There were 77 new listings in the past 12 months, but many could have already been on the market, taken off and put back on.
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Old 07-08-2014, 10:40 AM
 
Location: Portland, ME
234 posts, read 358,087 times
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No economy = no working people. Unfortunately this is why Maine is such an old (resident age) state. The young professionals *mostly* live and work in the Portland area or they leave the state entirely.
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Old 07-08-2014, 11:10 AM
 
Location: Boca Raton, FL
41 posts, read 73,037 times
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So, to summarize all the great posts, it would seem the following is the reason for the high inventory:

* OLD HOME PROBLEMS: Northern Maine homes take a beating and many need to gutted because of their age. Inventory is high because a lot of homes are in this condition. Sellers without cash reserves have to simply unload the old home to buyers who - if they are smart - will pay a really low price given all the dollars they'll need to fix them or demolish them.

* BARELY GETTING BY PROBLEMS: Due to the low wage base and lack of jobs, just maintaining the house and paying taxes and paying fuel costs is difficult. So, houses are listed (and re-listed and re-listed) in the hopes of sale. Sorta' like hitting the lottery. These homes are typically unrealistically priced.

I am not listing geographical isolation as a problem, because that's always been the case. They've always been a ways out there! I am not listing taxation or regulatory matters as an issue driving sales because no one's mentioned them.

I still suspect access to medical care may be driving some sales. With nursing home closures and distances involved for typical geriatric care needed under Medicare/Medicaid, I suspect some folks have to move closer to a VA or hospital center. But I am guessing on this one.

The earlier poster's very astute computation of 6.5 years of inventory (number of listings divided by the number of homes sold in a year) leads me to think that the first two trends must be really accelerating. Perhaps the demographics in this area have a high concentration of folks over 65, with homes from their young adult or childhood years (making the first 2 reasons a double whammy)
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Old 07-08-2014, 11:44 AM
 
Location: Central Maine
1,473 posts, read 3,186,422 times
Reputation: 1296
Quote:
Originally Posted by hebell View Post
* OLD HOME PROBLEMS: Northern Maine homes take a beating and many need to gutted because of their age. Inventory is high because a lot of homes are in this condition. Sellers without cash reserves have to simply unload the old home to buyers who - if they are smart - will pay a really low price given all the dollars they'll need to fix them or demolish them.
Here's the scenario I've seen in rural areas:
  1. young couple buys a house in the area they were raised
  2. couple works and raises children in that house
  3. children leave house
  4. house is older, needs constant repairs and maintenance
  5. couple retires and can't afford cost to maintain house
  6. house starts to go downhill
  7. couple tries to sell house, no market. The town that used to have 7,000 in it now has 1,500. Average age 65
  8. couple dies, house in disrepair.
  9. kids try to sell house, no market
  10. house falls down, becomes a field, then becomes a forest.
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Old 07-08-2014, 11:46 AM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,263 posts, read 61,014,574 times
Reputation: 30154
Great place to live, once you have a pension.
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Old 07-08-2014, 11:52 AM
 
Location: Boca Raton, FL
41 posts, read 73,037 times
Reputation: 93
Bangorme, I see this out in parts of the Eastern Shore - the parts that are not near the major roads leading back to "over the Bridge" (Annapolis MD) or the Dover Rt 1 artery from the beaches back up to Wilmington DE. Still, probably pales in comparison to N Maine.

It's really sad to see the shells of some of these places. The Eastern Shore used to be a lot more vibrant in its heartland with the canning operation (lots of peaches and tomatoes) before the trains all stopped running. Biggest mistake ever and a lot of the rail beds all grown over, not even usable as trails. Now, it's built up all along the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays for those with more money and second homes (with some service sector and trade jobs) but the rural heartland is really hurting. Lots of folks here drive long distances to offer services or do construction work 2-3 hour drive away.

------- So -----
How do you tell which towns make it, and which go to seed. Guess you need high second home density (to create a need for services/retail), or a good employer or two.
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