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Housing Planning Group
HOUSING TRENDS IN HANCOCK COUNTY
- There are three housing markets in Hancock County. Ellsworth-MDI, Blue Hill-Stonington and the Bucksport area. The large size of these areas indicate how far people must commute in order to find affordable housing in driving distance from their homes.
- During the 1990s apartment rental costs increased at a 16 percent annual rate in the Ellsworth-MDI area.
- Sales prices for the median priced home on MDI increased by 2.3 percent annually. In the Bucksport area prices increased by 2.9 percent and they increased at an 11.9 percent rate in the Stonington area.
- In 2001, first-time homebuyers in the Maine State Housing Authority (MSHA) program in the Ellsworth-MDI area paid a median of $93,000, $20,000 more than the statewide average, $9,000 more than in the Stonington area and $21,000 more than in Bucksport.
- One in five owners and one in three renters in the Ellsworth-MDI area pay more than 30 percent of income in housing costs.
- The home affordability index for 2001 was 0.88 compared to 0.78 in 1998. This indicates some closing of the income-housing price gap, but it is still a significant shortfall. This compares to 0.76 index in Blue Hill Stonington and a 1.45 in Bucksport.
- The rental affordability index for both the MDI-Ellsworth and Blue Hill Stonington markets in 2001 was 0.97. Bucksport has an index of 1.21.
- Between 1990 and 2000, the Ellsworth-MDI area gained 3,500 new jobs and 3,400 new employees, but only 1,900 new housing units.
- The average commuting time in Hancock County increased from 18 minutes in 1990 to 22.4 minutes in 2002.
- These figures don’t show the extent of housing affordability issues in individual towns. Here are a few sample indices from individual towns. Brooklin: 0.45; Southwest Harbor: 0.50; Castine 0.68; Otis, 1.53; and Franklin, 1.60.
- While we have been focused on Hancock County, this is a problem for much of the state. Statewide, 54 % of the households can’t afford the median-priced home, the rate for Hancock County is 53.5%.
RESOURCES PRESENTLY AVAILABLE TO ADDRESS HOUSING NEEDS
- The Maine Office of Community Development has grant funds to assess housing needs on a municipal or multi-town level. These funds are geared primarily at persons of low to moderate income. Even households of median income may have trouble buying a home in Hancock County.
- The Maine State Housing Authority has programs for first-time homebuyers and affordable housing subdivisions.
- There are committees presently looking at housing issues on the Blue Hill Peninsula, Castine, Bucksport and Mount Desert Island. There has been no county-wide analysis of housing needs.
- The Maine State Housing Authority has prepared State of Maine’s Housing 2002, which has data on housing needs statewide. Additional data are available at www.mainehousing.org, which has links to the Maine housing technical assistance consortium.