on Jan 31, 2025

Addressing Maine’s Housing Shortage: A Roadmap for the Future

“The scale of Maine’s housing challenge can seem overwhelming, but this report provides a clear, actionable strategy to accelerate housing production and meet the state’s goals. By addressing barriers to development and supporting workforce growth, Maine can create the homes it needs for the future.”

 

HR&A Advisors is proud to support the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future, MaineHousing, and the Department of Economic and Community Development in developing solutions to address Maine’s housing shortage. This week, our clients released A Roadmap for the Future of Housing Production in Maine, a strategy developed and authored by HR&A that outlines key actions that State of Maine can take, in partnership with municipalities and the private sector, to increase housing production and strengthen Maine’s construction workforce.

 

HR&A Partner Phillip Kash and Senior Analyst Eva Phillips presented our recommendations to the Maine State Legislature’s Committee on Housing and Economic Development, drawing coverage from Press Herald, Channel 6/WCSH, and Bangor Daily News. The report’s findings will help shape policy decisions and drive solutions for Maine’s housing and economic future.

 

This report builds on the findings of HR&A’s State of Maine Housing Production Needs Study, which identified that the state needs as many as 84,000 additional homes by 2030 to meet the needs of current and future residents, support Maine’s growing economy and improve affordability. HR&A presented a series of strategies designed to take a comprehensive approach to growing housing production in the state, informed by interviews with local housing, planning and development experts and national best practice examples tailored to Maine’s specific challenges and opportunities. Recommendations include strategies to streamline state and local development approvals processes, incentivize municipalities to contribute towards housing production goals, and strengthen the private sector’s ability to deliver more homes through growing the construction workforce.

 

We also developed the State of Maine Housing Data Portal to support planning and actions to address housing production needs across the state. The online portal, available at mainestatehousingdata.org, builds upon the State of Maine Housing Needs Production Study.

 

Related press

How can Maine fix its housing crisis? A new report has dozens of ideas Portland Press Herald
Maine lawmakers get sobering recommendations to create new housing before 2030, News Center Maine

New report outlines how Maine can increase housing production Bangor Daily News

Report outlines how Maine can increase housing production FOX23