The cold never bothered them anyway.
Homebuyers are grabbing their winter gear and flocking to far-flung Maine — where they’ve managed to drive up the median home price a bone-chilling 78.5% in just five short years, a new report reveals.
According to freshly published findings from industry news site Pro Tool Reviews, The Pine Tree State has experienced the most significant increase in median home prices of any of the fifty since 2019 — jumping from $219,000 to $391,000.
The explosive growth comes in spite of the fact that Maine’s population has trickled upward a mere 0.32% since 2008, according to research conducted by Pew Charitable Trust — well below states like Texas (1.52%) and Florida (1.34%), better known for their heated housing markets in recent years.
Maine’s tiny capital, Augusta, experienced the most dramatic change, according to the report.
Neighboring New Hampshire slid into second place on the list, experiencing a 76.4% rise in average residential real estate prices since 2019.
The new wave of northern New England homesteaders don’t appear to be struggling to make their purchases either — The Granite State ranked highest for size of downpayment, boasting $72,750 on average.
Another state in the region took third place on the overall list — Rhode Island, which experienced a 73% jump.
Meanwhile, the most affordable state for homebuyers right now is Louisiana, where the median home price is just $254,000, researchers revealed.
Texas took second place, followed by Oklahoma, Mississippi and Indiana rounding out the top five.
In determining what “most affordable” means, Pro Tool Reviews took into account not just the median home price (in which case Oklahoma would take first, with its $240,300 median price tag) but also the average salary, average down payment and the amount of homes in the state that sell for more than their asking price.
“Only 13% of homes in Louisiana sell for over the list price,” the report analysis commented of the Bayou State, where the average salary is $54,134.08,
“This represents the fourth-lowest figure of all states analyzed — 27.3% of homes in the state have their list price lowered before being sold,” researchers said.
