{"id":5306,"date":"2024-04-26T07:20:48","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T07:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/26\/the-reign-of-portland-maine-as-the-top-u-s-luxury-hot-spot-continues-for-third-straight-quarter\/"},"modified":"2024-04-26T07:20:48","modified_gmt":"2024-04-26T07:20:48","slug":"the-reign-of-portland-maine-as-the-top-u-s-luxury-hot-spot-continues-for-third-straight-quarter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/26\/the-reign-of-portland-maine-as-the-top-u-s-luxury-hot-spot-continues-for-third-straight-quarter\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reign of Portland, Maine, as the Top U.S. Luxury Hot Spot Continues for Third-Straight Quarter"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Besides Lobster rolls, Portland, Maine, is starting to also become synonymous with luxury homes, at least according to the latest Wall Street Journal\/Realtor.com Housing Market Ranking, released Thursday.<\/p>\n

The city\u2014the most populous in the Pine Tree State\u2014has topped the luxury cut of the ranking for the third consecutive quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith markets like Portland that have shown up time and time again, what that really means is the area is continuing to hold the attention of buyers,\u201d said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt continues to offer great amenities, a good economy and a good housing market,\u201d Jones said. \u201cBut all of the other trappings we consider also remain strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The quarterly index analyzes key housing market data, as well as economic vitality and lifestyle metrics, for the largest 60 luxury metropolitan areas in the U.S. to highlight housing markets that offer a high quality of life and are expected to see future home price appreciation. It identifies markets that those considering a high-end home purchase should add to their shortlist\u2014whether the goal is to live in it or rent it out.<\/p>\n

The top five cities in the first quarter index were rounded out by Nashville, Tennessee; St. Louis; San Diego; and Atlanta.<\/p>\n

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Top 10 Luxury Housing Markets<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Rank<\/a>
\nMetro Area<\/a><\/p>\n

1
\nPortland-South Portland, Maine<\/p>\n

2
\nNashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee<\/p>\n

3
\nSt. Louis, Missouri\/Illinois<\/p>\n

4
\nSan Diego-Carlsbad, California<\/p>\n

5
\nAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia<\/p>\n

6
\nDetroit-Warren-Dearborn, Michigan<\/p>\n

7
\nSalt Lake City, Utah<\/p>\n

8
\nBoulder, Colorado<\/p>\n

9
\nSanta Maria-Santa Barbara, California<\/p>\n

10
\nMinneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota\/Wisconsin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Wall Street Journal\/Realtor.com Housing Market Ranking<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For people \u201clooking for a healthy, friendly, safe lifestyle, we just take the cake,\u201d said Portland agent Alexa Oestreicher of Legacy Properties Sotheby\u2019s International Realty.<\/p>\n

The city offers everything from varied arts and cultural offerings, top-notch medical facilities and well-regarded educational institutions to a thriving restaurant and beverage scene, tons of natural resources and a friendly community, with just about everything in between.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s more here than you have time in your lifetime to discover,\u201d Oestreicher said. \u201cEverywhere you turn there is something for people. It\u2019s a really fun place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the Draw<\/h2>\n

Luxury home prices in Portland have grown 22% in the past year.<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

Portland\u2019s median luxury listing price has jumped 22% in the past year, pushing it to $1.7 million during the first quarter of 2024, according to the ranking.<\/p>\n

While on a steep upswing, it\u2019s still good value when compared to the housing markets that many incoming Portland residents are leaving behind.<\/p>\n

New Hampshire and Massachusetts are the biggest sources of migration into Portland, according to Gregg Caporossi, an agent with Portland\u2019s Town & Wharf Real Estate.<\/p>\n

But luxury buyers are coming from further afield, too, hailing from places like California and Florida. Regardless of where they\u2019re departing, though, Portland\u2019s \u201cprices have been relatively affordable compared to where these people are coming from,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

These incoming residents are often seeking a higher quality of life, according to Caporossi.<\/p>\n

Many buyers \u201cmade their money in Boston, New York, California, and have made a conscious decision that they\u2019re going to look for a home that affords them more of a work-life balance,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

Most of the people who are buying from out of state have a connection to Maine. Whether they vacationed in the state as kids, went to camp there or attended college, \u201ca lot of them have strong ties because they have good experiences,\u201d Caporossi said.<\/p>\n

For the third quarter running, Portland, Maine, has ranked as the top luxury home market in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

And \u201cthey\u2019re dragging people with them,\u201d he added. In some cases its \u201cfriends looking for the same work-life balance. But they\u2019re also bringing their family with them, lots of grandparents especially, to be close to their kids and grandkids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course this kind of migration would likely be impossible if not for the pandemic-prompted ability to work remotely, something that\u2019s easy to do from Portland.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I talk to [clients], they are traveling at least a couple of times a month, sometimes as much as twice a week,\u201d Oestreicher said. \u201cIf you work two days in the office and have one night away from your kids, it\u2019s a lot cheaper than trying to live in Boston or New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have trains and planes and automobiles, it\u2019s easy,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Climate<\/h2>\n

This is the first iteration of the quarterly ranking that has taken climate data into consideration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe changed the methodology some, we introduced the climate risk data, and that is one of the aspects where [the top luxury markets] really outperform,\u201d Jones said. \u201cThese are areas where, in general, they see relatively low climate risk, where buyers can feel a little more confident the area or the property isn\u2019t likely to see the five climate risks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those major risks are extreme heat, wind, air quality, floods and wildfires.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really lucky,\u201d Oestreicher said. \u201cwe have clean water, clean air, clean living,\u201d and they\u2019re factors that are increasingly important to people,<\/p>\n

However, \u201cwe have impact,\u201d Oestreicher said. \u201cCasco Bay is one of the fastest-warming bodies of water, we are definitely monitoring it. We had storms in February with flooding that we have not had in 100 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The impact on the coast has been felt, \u201cwith erosion in some areas that have not had it before. But it\u2019s not as extreme as in Nantucket or Block Island. We have an impact but also the ability to make changes and protect it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Market<\/h2>\n

Portland\u2019s market is strong, \u201cjust not growing at the pace it was,\u201d Oestreicher explained. \u201cWith the interest rates not dropping like expected, we haven\u2019t had the spring growth we expected, I\u2019m seeing a little push back in price.\u201d<\/p>\n

Competition meanwhile is \u201cbetter this year than it has been in three years, and I\u2019m seeing, instead of 15 to 20 offers on a property, I\u2019m seeing three to four. We\u2019re seeing home inspections coming back, they\u2019re in most of our deals again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

A young woman paddle-boards across the harbor in Portland, Maine.<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

Though certainly not a buyer\u2019s market, \u201cit is less of a sellers market than it was the last three years,\u201d Oestreicher said. \u201cThere\u2019s a shift, I think it\u2019s healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

A balanced market is considered to be one with four to six months of inventory.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hovering at less than two months,\u201d Caporossi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuyer activity has definitely declined significantly in recent months, and that\u2019s as much about the lack of inventory as high interest rates. There\u2019s nothing for them to buy,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve got a lot of sellers that are just sitting on the sidelines. The whole system is just sort of in lockdown mode.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, \u201cI\u2019m bullish on where home prices are going to go,\u201d said Caporossi. \u201cThe biggest drivers of [prices] in Maine are we just don\u2019t have large subdivisions, we aren\u2019t building enough to meet demand, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to change in the short term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mansion Global is owned by Dow Jones. Both Dow Jones and Realtor.com are owned by News Corp. The Wall Street Journal is also owned by Dow Jones.<\/p>\n

The post The Reign of Portland, Maine, as the Top U.S. Luxury Hot Spot Continues for Third-Straight Quarter<\/a> appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com\u00ae<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getty Images Besides Lobster rolls, Portland, Maine, is starting to also become synonymous with luxury homes, at least according to the latest Wall Street Journal\/Realtor.com Housing Market Ranking, released Thursday. The city\u2014the most populous in the Pine Tree State\u2014has topped the luxury cut of the ranking for the third consecutive quarter. \u201cWith markets like Portland…Read More→<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}