A 12,500-square-foot Sebago Lake estate on 29 acres whose owner was named one of the most powerful women in American business hit the market recently for $9.5 million.
That is currently the highest asking price for an inland Maine home. For decades, the property at 29 Mains Farm Road in Raymond was a one-room cabin. Seeing potential in the lakefront site, a previous owner brought in craftspeople starting in 2006 to build a six-bedroom, 10-bathroom main residence.
“It’s magical how the property’s laid out, how well the property is maintained,” listing agent David Banks, the broker owner of Portland-based RE/MAX By the Bay, said. “It took three years to build this estate, and the attention to detail is just the best of the best.”
The Raymond home is one of eight Maine properties on the market for more than $9 million. Homes away from the coast rarely go for that price, although Sebago Lake in southern Maine and Moosehead Lake in the north have seen similar prices in the past.
The owners of the estate, Kathleen Murphy and George Hornyak, live in Massachusetts, according to property records. They bought the property in 2016 from the person who built it, Banks said. Murphy, now retired, was president of personal investing at Boston-based financial giant Fidelity Investments for more than a decade and was often named one of the most powerful women in business by Fortune magazine.
“They just don’t come to Maine anymore, so they decided to sell it,” Banks said of the owners.
The property is being sold fully furnished, Banks said. Although the owners have used it as a second home, they and their agent envision it as a year-round compound for the next owner.
Raymond is only 50 minutes from Portland, which has a thriving food scene and an airport, Banks noted. Other properties around the lake would probably go for a similar price but they don’t change hands often. Banks sold a comparable property in Raymond at 64 Sunset Chimneys Road for $8.5 million two years ago.
Standout features include its large stone fireplace, cathedral ceilings and the lake views that come with 750 feet of waterfront access. The estate also boasts a separate guest house, fitness room, sauna and a barn with a recreation hall designed for entertaining.
The property was listed for the first time earlier this month. The listing will stay up until just before the holidays because the home won’t show as well with the snow, the agent said.