Few short-term rentals could be viable, affordable homes for the average Mainer, report says

In some parts of Maine, the demand for short-term rentals has been directly blamed for the shortage of affordable housing.

But new analysis finds that it's more complicated.

Short-term rentals make up 16% of the state's housing stock, according to a recent report describing Maine's housing needs.

But 57% of seasonal homes could be available to rent or own for at least three months of the year.

And only about one-third of that seasonal rental stock is comprised of affordable homes that an average Mainer could rent or buy. The research finds that the rest are too large, too expensive or not practical.

Study author Christiana Whitcomb said the number of short-term rentals that meet the criteria of affordable housing varies in different Maine communities.

Courtesy of "The State of Maine Housing Production Needs Study"

"[In] some places it is definitely a significant part of the inventory," she said last week at MaineHousing's affordable housing conference in Portland. "But broadly speaking it's not a major driver of what we're seeing housing supply needs."

For example, the study finds that seasonal rentals make up one-tenth of the housing stock in Hancock County. But 3% of them would be considered affordable and practical homes to rent or buy. Short-term rentals make up 6% of the housing stock in Lincoln and Franklin Counties, but 2.5% and 1.76% of those homes, respectively, are considered affordable to the average Mainer, the analysis finds.