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Landlords in Maine’s largest city report that the rental market is cooling down for the first time in years, with demand lessening for the generally pricey units that are now available.
The median rent in Portland right now is $2,500, according to Zillow. That’s $300 less than what it was in July. While that is in line with seasonal fluctuations, many in the city say demand is low even for this time of year. Listing sites show units staying online for longer than the few days that they would likely have lasted in the 2021 or 2022 markets.
“It’s crazy. No one had vacancies. Even before the pandemic, there were no units,” said Brit Vitalius, a real estate agent who leads the Rental Housing Alliance of Southern Maine, a landlord group. “It feels like everything is just mellowing out and slowing down.”
Vitalius suspects that Maine’s pandemic population surge that was focused on the southern part of the state is settling down. Between April 2020 and July 2022, more than 34,000 people moved to Maine on net, according to Census data. Since 2019, Portland has issued less than 1,500 building permits, federal data show.
So while new units come on line, many are being leased at prices above the rent affordable to the median household, which had an annual income just over $68,000 last year. Demand for premium units is plateauing because “there aren’t that many tenants” of those price points, Vitalius said.
Smaller-time property managers in Portland agree that the market is cooling, including Paul Yearwood, who manages two apartment buildings in the city. Last year, he would have tens of inquiries when he put a unit up for lease. Now, a vacant unit in his building on Vesper Street near the Eastern Promenade at $2,600 a month has been on the market for 45 days.
Heather Sadler, who manages two West Bayside apartments, said that she’s heard of other property managers lowering their leasing prices. One of Sadler’s apartments is vacant, but she’s sticking it out and keeping it listed at $1,800, she said.
“When there’s more on the market, it might take me a little longer to rent my apartment,” said Sadler, who has begun accepting housing vouchers and participating in veteran housing initiatives in attempts to get her units leased.
While the city market is cooling off, the suburban one is not, said Wendy Harmon, who owns 125 units in 20 buildings between Portland, Westbrook and Gray. On Monday, she had three people scheduled for showings of one vacant unit in the city. One person showed, she said.
“It’s a different market now,” she said.
Not all landlords feel demand lessening, especially ones who lease affordable or workforce units. Daniel Fitzpatrick, who owns two buildings on Chestnut Street, said that rent hovers around $1,500 a month and that vacancies are filled within a week.
“I’ve never had trouble, and I’ve owned these buildings for 26 years,” he said. “They rent quick.”
