You’ll Be Surprised by the Age of the Average Maine House

Considering some of the first British settlements in the Americas were located in what is now Maine, it makes sense that some of the oldest homes in the country would be located in Maine.

Additionally, the wealthy sea captains and merchants that made their homes in Maine's coastal towns had their houses built from the highest-quality materials.  Despite the fact that these houses are more than a century old, they are in great shape.  In fact, many will still be around a century from now.

Moving inland, much of Central Maine experienced a post-Civil War building boom.  The young men returning from the war got married and started families.  Clearly, as their families got bigger, they needed to build a bigger house.  Most of these homes were built between 1865 and 1885.  There are still hundreds of them scattered throughout Maine.

All that would make you think that we have a pretty high median home age in Maine, right?

Apparently, that is not really the case.

What is the median home age in Maine?

According to Today's Homeowner, the average age for a house in Maine is only 45 years.

When we break it down by county, we can see that the oldest homes in the state are in Androscoggin County.  The average age of an Androscoggin County home is 54 years.  Aroostook County came in second place.  The homes up there are an average of 49 years old.

The average age of a Kennebec County home is 47 years old.  In Somerset County, it is 44 years.  In Cumberland County, the average age in 47 years.

One of the real head-scratchers is that the average age of a home in York County is only 42 years.  That's one of the lowest median ages in the state.  We find that a little strange, because the York County town of Kittery was one of the first European settlements in North America.  It was first settled in the 1620s.  No, we did not expect any homes from the 1600s to still be around, but we kind of thought that enough houses from the 1700s or 1800s would still be around to sway the numbers.

Clearly, you can tell that there has been enough newer (late-1900s) construction done to sway the average home age in most counties.

What is your opinion?  How old is your home?  Tell us your story by messaging us inside our app.