Over 230 real estate insiders registered to gather virtually for the Maine Real Estate & Development Association’s (MEREDA) Spring Conference on May 20th. As part of the Conference, MEREDA released its 15th edition of the MEREDA Index, a key economic indicator for the state of Maine. While the Index saw a dip during the first half of the year as the economy began its sharp decline related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Index shot upward in the second half of the year, resulting in an overall increase of 2.8% over the annual average of 2019. Beyond the data, the individual components of the Index—commercial, residential, and construction—help paint a fuller picture of a historic year in Maine real estate.
“To say 2020 was a year like no other is an understatement, and when we zoom in on the Maine real estate market we see a truly remarkable year,” says Josh Fifield, MEREDA President. “We have all been watching as the residential market rocketed off the charts. We all felt the impact of vacant office and retail spaces in our communities, and we saw new construction projects forge ahead with increased demand. This is the story the 2021 MEREDA Index tells,” continues Fifield.
The MEREDA Index is a measure of real estate activity designed to track changes in Maine’s real estate markets. The Index is a composite of nine seasonally adjusted measures reflecting both new development and transactions involving existing properties and it covers both the commercial and residential markets statewide. This most recent edition covers the year 2020.
The MEREDA Index was tabulated by economist Dr. Charles Colgan with commentary from Cheri Bonawitz of Malone Commercial Brokers, Joe Dasco of Reger Dasco Properties, and Drew Sigfridson of The Boulos Company.
“The MEREDA Index is one of the best baseline measures for the health of the real estate market in Maine,” says Matt Worthen of Eaton Peabody, Index underwriter. “When you combine economic analysis from an expert economist like Dr. Charles Colgan with the ‘feet on the street’ perspective of local industry leaders, you have a keystone report for MEREDA members, their thousands of employees, and for Maine’s economy at large,” Worthen continues.
This edition of the MEREDA Index was underwritten by Eaton Peabody, with support from Katahdin Trust Company, and XPress Copy.
To download a copy of the report or watch a video about the MEREDA Index, please visit www.mereda.org.