Measures of Community Sustainability Part 2: Housing

This story map provides data on housing in the MCOG region. The first part shows trends from 2016-2021. The second part dives deeper into the current state of housing. Feel free to reach out to Charlotte Nutt at cnutt@midcoastcog.com with any questions.

This series of infographics show changes in the housing landscape from 2016 to 2021. We hope you find this informative.

This next section provides further details on the current state of the houses and housing market in the MCOG region.

This story map provides trends and a snapshot of the MCOG region. The first part digs into trends, and we see that long-term rentals have declined, population is growing, and seasonal rentals have been converted to long-term homes. The second part provides the current status of housing trends. Renters are more likely to live in larger units and/or units with inadequate living conditions. Renters are also more likely than homeowners to have low levels of incomes, whereas homeowners form a skewed bell curve around $75-$100K. Median rent per month for a two-bedroom unit is greater in the MCOG region than the median rent in Maine, and our southern two LMA's have rents greater than the US median for a two-bedroom unit. HUD data shows that affordable housing centers congregate around the Route 1 corridor and not necessarily around LMA centers. All LMA's have high rates of old housing units. The MCOG region has seen an uptick in building permits, but the data must be updated for the most recent years. Lastly, housing market trends show that the price of houses continues to increase but the average length of time a house stays on the market has fallen over the past year. These data are all pieces of the puzzle of our housing crisis.