Half of Southwest Harbor homes may sit empty part of the year

SOUTHWEST HARBOR — Only about half of the homes in Southwest Harbor are occupied by year-round residents.

That estimate comes from an interim report on housing by the town’s Sustainability Committee’s Working Group on Housing, delivered to the Select Board on Oct. 14.

Additionally, the committee found that housing prices remain out of reach for many people.

“Our median homes cost more than three times as much as what our median families can afford,” said Emily Samuel, a member of the volunteer working group that spent hundreds of hours inventorying the town’s housing stock.

The median cost of a house in Southwest Harbor is $550,000.

“To afford that, a family would need an annual income of $192,000” compared to the current annual household income of $62,000, Samuel said.

“This mismatc