According to Maine Listings, "Real estate sales in Maine continue on a healthy, highly-positive trajectory. The value of single-family existing homes jumped 17.39% comparing August 2020 to August 2019, reaching a median sales price of $270,000. Specifically in York County,  prices are up 12.99% with the average home sale now at $338,870. Home sales are also up slightly to 0.21%. 

“The August statistics show strong demand for residential real estate in Maine,” says Tom Cole, 2020 president of the Maine Association of REALTORS® and Managing Broker of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate The Masiello Group in Brunswick. “After the steep decline during the second quarter due to COVID-19 impacts, Maine’s third quarter positive sales to date have brought us nearly even to 2019 levels. January through August 2020 is only 0.7% behind a year ago—Maine’s best year ever.

“We are experiencing an historically low supply of homes for sale, 40 percent below a year ago.  Demand is being fueled by all-time low mortgage interest rates, Maine households moving within the state, and an up-tick in out-of-state buyers seeking Maine’s quality of life and safety.  In August of 2019, Maine had 482 single family homes purchased by out-of-state buyers. In August 2020, that number was 707.”

While some fear that an increase in out of state shoppers is driving values up to levels that local buyers who's wages are lagging, there are several advantages to this influx as noted by Kay Stephens of the Penobscot Bay Pilot. Her article notes that  "It’s 100 percent true that if the average Maine homebuyer who has a price limit is put in a competitive situation with an out-of-state buyer who can buy in cash, and doesn’t have a financing contingency — that the Maine home buyer at a strategic disadvantage,” said Brawn. “There is a shortage of affordable housing that has been evident for the last 20 years and now is getting worse.”

"People “from away” have always moved to Maine. I happen to be one of them who moved here by myself in 1993, when apartments were still cheap and plentiful. Since then, I’ve seen scores of young people moving out of state. This has been in tandem with the last decade of steady demographic growth and “bumps” such as the years after 9/11 with incoming residents. Throughout, I have taken a particular interest in observing the impact of out-of-state attitudes and behaviors on Maine residents and vice versa.

There is sufficient evidence that people from away have strengthened the arts and cultural side to Maine since the back-to-the-landers started coming here in the 1970s. Bringing diverse experiences and knowledge with them, they have undoubtedly contributed to Maine’s burgeoning arts, entertainment, restaurant, and brewing scenes in the last 20 years. Not to mention, their contributions to local tax bases. This winter, people who stay past the summer in Maine’s economy who have the means to work remotely and continue to bring in substantive income will also contribute to an economy that has taken a bashing from the pandemic.

“When someone from out of state buys a house, they often do improvements, additions and I think a lot of contractors, the builders, the septic companies, the landscapers, etc are a lot busier than they've ever been, so it's keeping people working,” said Brawn. “A lot of people who make their income somewhere else are spending it locally.”

“I do know a number of people who have what are typically summer residences and who are planning on staying in those summer residences well into the winter season,” said Hughes. “The upshot is that community businesses may  benefit from this shift, because the loss of business through March, April and May through COVID-19 may be recovered in September, October, November, and December because there will be more people here using those commercial services.” You can read more from this opinion piece at https://www.penbaypilot.com/article/impact-covid-19-s-urban-flight-mainers/137406.