In just the last five years, Portland, Maine, has increasingly become a destination for professionals looking to get away from it all.
While few homes in Portland reach the million-dollar mark, just outside the city limits the coast and the high cost come calling.
About a block down from the town landing market and a block up from a whole lot of lobster traps is a brand new custom-designed home — 4,000 square feet of space at $1.19 million.
The home has a custom-designed kitchen with custom cabinets, top-of-the-line appliances, fixtures and endless granite — all complementing the formal living spaces with Brazilian cherry floors, two stone fireplaces and floor-to-ceiling windows. There are five bedrooms, two bathrooms, including a sumptuous double master, and a master closet fit for Imelda Marcos.
But it's what's outside the double front door of this home that keeps the price high. It’s exactly one block from the water and a one-minute walk to the Portland Yacht Club, where you can keep your boat.
If the house were actually on the water, that would add $600,000 to $700,000 to the price tag.
Portland is easily one of the hottest real estate markets on the East Coast, but like everywhere else, it too is leveling off. The house is about twice the price it would have been 5 years ago, but it's also taking three times as long to sell and has already been on the market four months. A few years ago, it probably would have sold in 30 days.
The price has already been cut $100,000, and with the spring selling season under way, the call of the coast could finally reel in a buyer.
