“The second quarter of 2016 saw the Maine real estate industry reach the highest level in ten years, led by a 10% growth in the residential component” said Rick McCarthy, consultant with Eaton Peabody and board member with the Maine Real Estate & Development Association (MEREDA). McCarthy made his remarks at MEREDA’s sold out conference in mid-January, while unveiling The MEREDA Index, the economic indicator that measures the health of the state’s real estate sector.
But, all told, The MEREDA Index, which covers the middle two quarters of 2016, came in slightly lower than recent editions, at 93. “​The highwater mark gains were not sustained throughout, with a 4% drop toward the end of the period,” said economist Dr. Charles Colgan, of the University of Southern Maine, who compiled the report for MEREDA.
“Overall, The MEREDA Index has grown in the last years, though we are seeing the first plateau since the post-2007 recovery,” said Paul Peck, MEREDA president, a real estate developer and an attorney at Drummond & Drummond.
Peck and other industry insiders attribute these shifts to the “worker gap,” with a dearth of qualified candidates available to fill electrician, plumbing and other subcontractor positions, driving up the cost and increasing the timeline of construction.
The MEREDA Index is compiled biannually and is widely regarded as the primary tool for insiders to track changes in the market. Four experts from the state’s real estate sector offered commentary on the state of the market.
Following keynote remarks from Derek Langhauser, president of Maine’s Community College System, about that organization’s efforts to cultivate additional tradespeople in Maine, Peck announced that MEREDA has recently launched a subcommittee, alongside AGC Maine, to effect change in that area. “The ‘worker gap’ issue must be addressed if Maine is to benefit from continued economic investment, an expanded tax base in our neighborhoods and communities, and a robust tourism economy,” he said.
Download the full Index report:
https://mereda.org/documents/miscdocs/MEREDA_Index_Fall_2016.pdf .
This edition of The MEREDA Index was underwritten by Eaton Peabody, with support from CBRE | The Boulos Company, Wright-Ryan Construction, and The Press Hotel.
The next edition of The MEREDA Index will be released at the organization’s spring conference on May 18; visit www.MEREDA.org for details and registration.
This edition of The MEREDA Index was underwritten by Eaton Peabody, with support from CBRE | The Boulos Company, Wright-Ryan Construction, and The Press Hotel.
