MAINE, USA — On Wednesday, Maine policymakers released the "State of Maine Housing Production Needs Study." This report outlined the housing difficulties of the state.
"Started out, you found the house. You and the seller or the selling agent had a conversation. You come up with the price point that you want and you usually end up going under contract," Jermaine Walker, real estate agent for eXp Realty, said. "Today's market, you're putting in an offer. You're being informed that there might be six or seven other offers on the table. Come with your highest and best offer."
It's no secret Mainers who bought a house decades ago have seen a substantial increase in the value of their homes. Once they sell those homes, they see very high-profit margins. The issues start once the home sellers in Maine then become home buyers in the state. The buying power of their newly acquired profits isn't nearly as high as they want or need to upgrade homes.
"Buyers have been truly backed up for about three years now to the start of COVID when we started seeing this inventory production really dip to a low. So, what we're sitting on right now is about three years of buyers that have been trying to get into this market," Tim Bush, an associate broker at NextHome, said.
The phenomenon Bush has seen concurred with what the recent study outlined. One reason Maine has a lot of buyers is because of the number of people moving to the state to fill job vacancies.
The study stated that the cooperation of state and federal governments, local cities and towns, and the private sector will be needed on an ongoing basis to rectify the state's housing production issues.