A house or apartment is more than just shelter. It represents security, privacy, health, community and all the other things we associate with “home.” It is a necessity of life. Many argue that safe, affordable housing is a right that all Americans should enjoy.
Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Rising housing costs have created affordable housing challenges for all of our residents, and can have far reaching affects. It can affect our ability to attract business. It can determine whether the people who serve the community (cashiers, wait staff, police officers, teachers, and others) can afford to live here. It can determine whether families remain on the island from one generation to the next.
This chapter examines the supply and condition of housing in Mount Desert, considers its affordability in relation to local incomes, and analyzes its availability, especially for lower income households.
Housing Stock, 2003
In 2003, our town had an estimated 2,012 housing units. Approximately 40% of these housing units were located west of Somaes Sound and the remainder was in the east.
For analytical purposes, we describe Mount Desert’s housing stock based on boundaries determined by the US Census Bureau. The three areas can be roughly defined as the village of Northeast Harbor, the East Side, and the West Side (separated by Somes Sound).
· The village of Northeast Harbor is bounded to the north by Sargeant Drive and Route 3 and is otherwise surrounded by water. This is the densest housing in Mount Desert with 523 housing units, roughly one-quarter of the town’s entire housing stock. Between 1990 and 2003, Northeast Harbor had a net gain of 128 housing units. Not surprisingly, Northeast Harbor’s housing is the oldest town wide – the median age of the housing stock is more than 60 years.
We project that this housing stock is unlikely to expand significantly. Older, dense villages tend to expand their housing stock slowly for three reasons: the most buildable lots are already developed; demolitions or conversions from housing to commercial uses are more likely; and older units are often combined to create larger units with more amenities for the modern family. Countering these trends are the large older homes that are sometimes broken into smaller units and condominiums.
Given current conditions, the village is unlikely to experience significant housing stock growth in the future.
Approximately one-half of the housing units in Northeast Harbor are used seasonally.
· The East Side is bounded to the west by Somes Sound and includes the villages of Seal Harbor and Otter Creek. This section of town had one-third of the entire town’s housing units in 2003 (or 670 units). Between 1990 and 2003, this section of town experienced a net gain of 67 housing units. This is the second oldest section of town – the median age of the housing stock is 50 years.
We project that the East Side is unlikely to experience significant growth in its housing stock in the future because not much land for development exists. Acadia National Park occupies the majority of the land on this side of Somes Sound, and much of the remaining land has already been developed. Some infill housing is likely in this section of town as older properties are subdivided into smaller lots.
Approximately half of the housing units are used seasonally on the East Side as a whole. In Seal Harbor, 53% of the housing stock consists of seasonal residences. However, Otter Creek is only 33% percent seasonal, making it one of the more year-round neighborhoods in the Town.
· The West Side covers the town west of Somes Sound. It includes the neighborhoods of Somesville, Hall Quarry, and Pretty Marsh. This section of town had 817 housing units in 2003, or approximately 40% of the town’s total housing stock. Between 1990 and 2003 this section of town added 141 new housing units. This is the newest section of town – the median age of the housing stock is 25 years.
We project that the West Side is the most likely to experience significant growth in the future. It has the largest amount of buildable land, and is relatively less expensive than Northeast Harbor or the East Side.
Slightly less than half of the housing units are used seasonally on the West Side as a whole are used seasonally. Pretty Marsh has the highest amount of seasonal housing, at 58%. In contrast, Somesville is ony 37% seasonal, and Hall Quarry, the most year-round neighborhood in the Town, is only 32% seasonal.
Between 1990 and 2000, the number of year-round units increased town-wide. In 1990, 837 housing units were occupied year-round. By 2000, this had increased to 962 units, a 15% increase. The largest increase occurred in Northeast Harbor, which grew by 37%. The East Side decreased slightly, while the West Side increased by 20%.
Type of Housing Stock
 Nearly 95% of the housing units in Mount Desert are single-family units. Duplexes and units in multi-family structures account for the remaining units. This reliance on single-family units is
the pattern across the entire island, although Southwest Harbor and Bar Harbor have slightly larger stocks of duplexes and multi-family units.
Compared with the Hancock County and the state as a whole, Mount Desert has a very high proportion of single-family housing units and low proportions of duplexes and multi-unit structures. Further, town data suggests that new housing units being constructed are almost exclusively single family units.
Occupancy Rate and Tenure
Compared with surrounding communities, our town has a lower percentage of year-round housing units. In Mount Desert, 51% of the units are used year-round. Bar Harbor (81%), Southwest Harbor (74%), and Tremont (65%) all have large year-round populations.
Approximately 30% of our year-round households are renter households (282 renter households in 2000). Between 1990 and 2000, growth in the number of renter households (29%) outpaced growth in owner-occupied households (10%). The largest renter household increases occurred in Northeast Harbor (59% increase) and on the West Side of the town (45% increase). The East Side actually lost rental units between 1990 and 2000.
As a result, the share of the town’s year-round households that rent has increased from 26% in 1990 to 29% in 2000.
Other communities on Mount Desert Island vary in the amount of year-round households that are renter-occupied. In 2000, nearly 40% of Bar Harbor’s households rented, while only 21% of Tremont’s households rented. In general, renter-occupied households increased at the same rate as owner-occupied households in these communities.
Age of the Housing Stock, 2003
Approximately one-third of Mount Desert’s housing stock has been built since 1980. Another one-third of the units were built before 1940, which indicates how important the town’s history remains in the present.
Mount Desert Housing Authority
The Mount Desert Housing Authority provides housing assistance to elderly, disabled, and low income families for all of Mount Desert Island. It is managed by a Board of Commissioners and its offices are located in Bar Harbor. The Housing Authority receives its funding from state and federal sources.
The Housing Authority provides two levels of service for those needing housing assistance. It owns and operates 18 one-bedroom apartments for elderly and disabled families, the Maple Lane Apartments. In 2003, these units were filled and there is currently a waiting list for these units.
The Housing Authority also provides rent and utility assistance to 53 low-income families on the island. These families live in apartments throughout the island. In 2003, the cost of this service amounted to nearly $250,000.
Affordable Housing Demand
While having a dry and warm place to live is considered a basic right by many, providing dry and warm places that are also affordable can be a Herculean challenge. This can be especially true in a community like Mount Desert, where demand for new housing is strong and property values are rising rapidly – between 2000 and 20034, the median sale price for existing homes has increased 83%, from $146,000 to $265,000 $480000 (according to the Maine Multiple Listing Service).
MDI Tomorrow has been working with the Mount Desert Community Trust to address the issue of affordable housing demand throughout the four communities of Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, Southwest Harbor, and Tremont. For more information, see the recently released Housing Needs Assessment, 2004 and the MDI Community Housing Action Plan, 2004.
The results of this study include:
· Housing and land prices have appreciated dramatically in the last three four years.
· Home prices are no longer affordable to the typical first time homebuyer.
· The rental market has grown, but the amount of income consumed in rent has risen dramatically.
· The housing market on the island is shifting more dramatically towards a seasonal and retirement community.
· The demand for year-round housing has grown as more than 1,000 year-round jobs have been created on the island in the last seven years.
The Maine State Housing Authority calculates its own affordability index based on whether a community’s median household income can afford to purchase that community’s median housing unit.
Using this analysis, Mount Desert’s median housing unit (which cost $260,000 in 2002) would be affordable to a household that made $85,615 (Table 4). Mount Desert’s median household income in 2002 was $46,242. Therefore, the MSHA does not consider Mount Desert to be an affordable community for to its residents.
Using this same analysis, Mount Desert is considered to be very unaffordable.
Issues and Implications
1. For very low, low, and moderate income households, Mount Desert’s housing and rental markets are not affordable, and housing prices and rents have been increasing in Mount Desert in recent years.
2. The lack of affordable housing has created some problems in attracting a labor force, and has strained the transportation system as more workers move out of town and off the island.
3. Most housing growth is not occurring close to services.
4. Mount Desert does not have a diverse housing profile.
5. There has been a growing number of rental units (smaller populations, more transient).
6. Mount Desert’s housing stock is relatively old, but in good condition.
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