Maine
Why it's so hard to sell this million-dollar Maine home with a mountain view
Housing
This section of the BDN aims to help readers understand Maine’s housing crisis, the volatile real estate market and the public policy behind them. Read more Housing coverage here.
A refurbished farmhouse sitting on 100 acres with a clear view of the western Maine mountains is for sale for $1.4 million.
The current owners of the 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom home in Phillips have lived there for more than three decades. They maintain the fields so they don’t grow over. The chief reason they’re selling the place is because they’re at retirement age and don’t want to deal with the upkeep.
Its large acreage has set it apart as a rare opportunity for homebuyers, but that’s also the reason the property has sat on the market for more than 200 days since September.
“It’s a lot for some people to think about,” listing agent Eric Kinney said. “At that price point, you might want to take care of those fields.”
The large acreage presents plenty of opportunities for creative buyers. One is a potential subdivision, Kinney, a real estate agent with Sandy River Realty in Farmington who has also worked in the area as a builder for the last 45 years, said. He said “decent” homes are in real short supply in Phillips, where this is the only home for sale.
One prospective buyer has been interested in maintaining the fields and restoring the property back to what its purpose was decades ago: a working farm. But most are just looking for a full-time residence. Some are interested in splitting the parcel up to sell off land, Kinney said.
The listing is one of 32 properties for sale in Maine as of Thursday that sit on 100 acres or more. Such a large parcel of land is a much rarer find today than it was just a few years ago, Kinney said.
“There’s fewer and fewer of those,” he said. “There’s not many places left with this acreage, views, privacy.”
Many larger properties like this listing were sold to people from out of state during the COVID-era real estate boom, the agent said. At the pandemic’s outset, people wanted to get away and buy their own private space. Maine had plenty of properties that fit the bill.
Today, that frenzy has chilled. But the luxury market is still strong and properties like Kinney’s going for more than $1 million are still seeing a high level of interest. A mix of both local and out-of-state buyers have been interested in purchasing the Phillips property since it was listed for sale in September, but none have followed through with an offer yet.
The farmhouse itself is an attraction, boasting more than 2,500 square feet of living space with views and tasteful updates made by the current owners. It was built in 1850, so has rustic charm and antique quirks including two wood stoves, but the owners have installed a new furnace, alarms, electrical systems and insulation. It also has a firepit, root cellar, barn, shed and a three-car attached garage.
The property is rural, but is less than 10 minutes from in-town Phillips, a small town that still retains some amenities including a grocery store. It’s about a half-hour to both Farmington and the four-season vacation destination of Rangeley. The road that splits the property is town-maintained, an added bonus in the winter months.
“It’s just a unique property, with the views and everything that goes with it,” Kinney said. “It’s just serene up there.”
Many Maine municipalities will open cooling centers this week with the National Weather Service issuing a variety of heat advisories covering the next few days.
The Maine DEP also issued an air quality alert for Wednesday with ground-level ozone expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
All of York County, interior Cumberland and Androscoggin counties, and the southern half of Oxford County will fall under an extreme heat warning from 11 a.m. Wednesday to 8 p.m. Friday.
The warning calls for “dangerously hot conditions” that could feature heat index values of up to 110 degrees, with overnight lows only expected to fall into the 70s, according to the weather service’s office in Gray.
The rest of the state — save northern Aroostook, Piscataquis and Somerset counties — falls under a heat advisory from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. However, the weather service has also placed much of the state under an extreme heat watch for Thursday.
Heat index values, which measure how hot it feels to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature, are expected to reach up to 104 degrees during the heat advisory period, the weather service warns. They could reach 110 degrees Thursday, when the extreme heat watch is in effect.
Northern Oxford and Franklin counties, and central Somerset County, can expect a heat index value of up to 99 degrees Wednesday, according to the weather service.
The weather service advises people to drink plenty of fluids, stay in air-conditioned rooms when possible, avoid extended periods in the sun and check up on relatives and neighbors. It also warns not to leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles, as “car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes.”
Cooling Centers
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has also issued an air quality alert from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Wednesday along the coast from Kittery to Acadia National Park. The agency warns that ground-level ozone concentrations are expected to reach levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups.
Ozone levels may reach “moderate levels” further inland, according to the Maine DEP, including in all of Androscoggin and Kennebec counties, as well as parts of Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Penobscot, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Washington and York counties.
Elevated ozone levels can pose a risk to children, older adults and people suffering from respiratory or heart diseases, according to the Maine DEP. Anyone exerting themselves outdoors may also experience health effects, which could include coughing, shortness of breath, throat irritation and mild chest pain.
Ozone levels were already climbing in southern New England on Tuesday, according to the Maine DEP, and winds are expected to bring those conditions to Maine on Wednesday.
The Maine DEP recommends that vulnerable populations avoid strenuous outdoor activities, keep windows closed, and circulate indoor air with fans or air conditioners. Those with asthma are also advised to keep quick-relief medication handy.
Particle pollution levels are also expected to be moderate across the state on Wednesday due to wildfire smoke, the Maine DEP said in its announcement Tuesday. Wildfires in Colorado, which have claimed the lives of three firefighters, had burned nearly 90,000 acres as of Tuesday, according to the Denver Post.
Maine could face up to $50 million in penalties next year due to errors in its payments for federal food benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Newly released data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture find that Maine’s error rate last year was nearly 11%, the bulk of which were overpayments. That’s in line with the U.S. average. But starting in October of next year, states with error rates above 6% must cover a portion of the SNAP benefits.
Anna Korsen, executive director of Full Plates, Full Potential, said the overpayments aren’t fraud — they’re human error. She said this new cost-shifting policy enacted last year under the Trump administration further complicates the SNAP application process.
“Instead, we could make this program more accessible and more efficient,” Korsen said. “And that would reduce the number of errors and also ensure that Mainers who are eligible for SNAP have access to it.”
She’s urging Congress to delay or reverse the policy under the farm bill that’s currently under consideration.
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services said it’s taking steps to reduce the error rate, including modernizing its systems and hiring an additional 40 eligibility specialists.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
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