A shocking Maine city has seen house costs double since 2020
Most Maine cities and cities have seen house costs rise by a minimum of 30 p.c for the reason that begin of the COVID-19 pandemic, however just one has seen house costs double.
It might be a shock. The Oxford County city of Rumford noticed the value for a mean house spike from almost $92,000 in January 2020 to simply over $189,000 in June, based on Zillow information. Such a steep value bounce in a city that’s cheaper than most others illustrates the depth of Maine’s housing affordability disaster. It additionally underscores the city’s revitalization efforts.
Identified for its Paul Bunyan statue and waterfalls heading into city from Route 2, Rumford is also house to the ND Paper mill. However the city is shaking its picture as primarily a mill city to at least one with numerous companies and entry to the outside, and that’s attracting extra folks to compete for housing, George O’Keefe Jr., its financial growth director, stated.
“Numerous the stereotypes that have been beforehand related to the mill, particularly the odor, have been efficiently mitigated,” he stated. “Now we’ve got this stunning city up towards the Rumford Falls within the river valley and a pleasant neighborhood ski space at Black Mountain of Maine.”
The city, which is on the banks of the Androscoggin River, has about 5,900 residents. The paper mill, which opened in 1901 and is now owned by ND Paper, had been the middle of enterprise exercise for many years, however the city has diversified its employment base in latest many years.
For instance, the mill contributed 78 p.c of the city’s tax base in 1987, however that has declined to simply 14 p.c now, O’Keefe stated. Different main employers embrace Rumford Hospital and the Sunday River ski resort in close by Newry.
There is also an inflow of white collar workers from out-of-state and from southern Maine who’re working remotely and who moved to the world as a result of it’s reasonably priced and livable, he stated. Others are commuting roughly an hour to jobs in Augusta and the Lewiston-Auburn space.
That provides Rumford extra of a mixture of mill staff {and professional} individuals who have come to city to benefit from the outdoor, Roger Arsenault, a businessman who has lived in Rumford for many of his life, stated. Arsenault is chairman of the board for Black Mountain of Maine and president at Group Power Co.
“It’s additionally good to see youthful households coming from away,” he stated. “Numerous them are actual property within the space as a result of they discover it so reasonably priced.”
Web pace is sweet within the space, and lots of houses are on the identical electrical grid because the hospital, so service is restored rapidly if there’s a blackout, Matt Pingree, a realtor at Amnet Realty, stated.
Pingree, a Rumford native, stated home hunters can nonetheless discover a good vary of costs within the city, though stock is low as in different areas of Maine. Properties are getting a number of provides and above-asking costs.
They typically have been promoting inside one week of being listed through the pandemic in comparison with the three to 6 months it took earlier than then. The value for a mean house in Rumford is up 5.7 p.c this June over June 2022, however that’s nonetheless almost $200,000 lower than the state’s common value of $383,000, based on Zillow.
“Properties within the $150,000 to $200,000 vary that may be financed by FHA and rural growth loans are going rapidly,” Pingree stated.
