Markets for Traditional Neighborhoods in Midcoast Maine. Summary Report. A Study of Residents Living in Midcoast Maine Regarding Preferences in Home Location Along with Analysis of Housing Demand.

摘要

This paper is a companion to the Market Decisions study State Planning Office: Belfast and Rockland LMA Housing Study, published in 2002. That study reported on and analyzed a survey of 300 households in the Rockland and Belfast housing market areas (as defined by the Maine State Housing Authority, and the same as labor market areas as defined by the Maine Department of Labor). The survey explored what people look for when they moved most recently, and what they will look for if they move again. The purpose of the survey was to explore peoples preference for living in a Great American Neighborhood in the midcoast area. This type of development is also referred to as a traditional neighborhood or neotraditional. It is characterized by mixed uses (single and multi-family housing, stores, schools, businesses); a variety of prices and housing types; compact, walkable arrangement; sidewalks and paths for pedestrians; with parks and public spaces integrated throughout. Examples of Great American Neighborhoods exist in many midcoast communities, including residential neighborhoods adjacent to the downtowns of Belfast, Camden and Rockland and villages in Rockport and Union. This companion report generalizes the Market Decisions findings to estimate housing demand for traditional neighborhoods within the market areas as a whole by bringing in other data from the Maine State Housing Authority, the Census, and the Maine Multiple Listing Service. It proceeds by describing the components of demand (B), estimating annual movement within the housing market areas (C), summarizing overall demand for neotraditional housing (D), looking at new additions to housing each year (E), considering turnover of existing housing (F), and summarizing the results (G).