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For most Maine communities, a $4.2 million home is easily the priciest one in town. In Kennebunkport, it is just the third-most expensive sold this year.
A popular spot for Mainers and non-Mainers alike, Kennebunkport has long been one of Maine’s most prestigious and expensive locations to live and includes the summer retreat of the Bush political family at Walker’s Point. But never has that been more pronounced than today, with the median home price inching closer to $1 million, the highest in Maine.
Sumi Dolben, a nurse practitioner from North Andover, Massachusetts, said she was initially hesitant to enter the market right now. She then saw a home she fell in love with, the five-bedroom property on Goose Rocks Beach.
Dolben had sold her home in Biddeford Pool earlier this year and was looking for a home to retire to, something that was larger and could accommodate a “growing family.” She said her path to finding the listing was built on “dumb luck.”
“I happened to be on Zillow one day when I found this listing that had just gone up,” she said.
She saw the property the next day through a broker and put an offer in, beating out two others.
The massive price tags showcase the increased desirability of people across Maine, New England and beyond to live in Kennebunkport, as well as housing prices in the market that continue to grow.
The most expensive property that sold this year in Kennebunkport was a five-bedroom on Ocean Avenue. It sold two months ago for $6.9 million. The second-most expensive was a $5.9 million home on Nehoc Lane. Both featured pools and tennis courts.
Homes with such high price tags are much more common in other states. The median home value in Brookline, Massachusetts, is $1.3 million. The most expensive property sold in Portland this year was a $5.4 million section of House Island in late March. The most expensive in Bangor was a downtown building containing 22 residential apartments. It sold for $2.6 million.
Dolben said the community appealed to her. She has already met some of her neighbors and likes them. Her new home is also slightly more removed from the beach, while the one in Biddeford Pool was on the sand.
“For longevity and safety, I just wanted to be a few more steps away from the sand and the water,” Dolben said. “But I could still hear it, smell it and see it.”
