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Laura Mitchell is executive director of the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition.
It's no secret, whether renting or trying to purchase a first home, Maine families are feeling the impacts of our state's housing crisis. Maine renters earn, on average, $24 an hour, but need $28 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment.
Most workers in service, retail, maintenance, clerks and drivers don't even earn $24 per hour. Maine's median income is nearly $74,000 (with rural counties seeing lower incomes), which qualifies home buyers for a $261,000 home -- yet the average Maine home costs $419,950.
Wages won't quickly catch up to housing costs. Between 2020 and 2024, home prices grew by over 50%, while wages grew by less than 33%. Our housing crisis doesn't know partisan lines; homes are the foundation of our economy, our workforce and our communities.
The first legislative session earlier this year was historic. Republicans and Democrats alike stepped up to take essential steps. For the first time, Maine dedicated ongoing revenue for affordable housing, reformed zoning to allow more homes in the right places, including designated town growth areas and mixed in with retail and other businesses, and expanded programs like the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit.
But we have more work to do. Maine must preserve the affordable homes we have -- in mobile home communities and in older rental properties that are at risk of losing affordability without ongoing support.
Maine also needs about 75,000 new homes by 2030 to catch up on waitlists and meet workforce and household growth. Delays in permitting slow development. In communities like Cumberland and Cape Elizabeth, critical affordable housing projects have been rejected -- and while other New England states like New Hampshire and others have implemented appeals processes to create fairness and build more housing.
Maine lacks the tools to provide common sense limits on frivolous denials of proposed
housing that meets local standards. The second legislative session is our opportunity to pass key bills and policies that have not yet become law:
Let's get serious about building a lot more housing to ensure our children and grandchildren can afford to stay in Maine. We can't have our teachers and police officers barely be able to afford their rent and then have the next generation in crisis.
Now is the time to turn momentum into action. Passing these bills and policies will move us closer to ensuring that every Maine worker, family and retiree has a safe and affordable place to call home and our youth have opportunity for homeownership in their future.