Bridgton, ME

We locals know all about Bridgton - a second home in the summer for vacationers for years, home to several beautiful lakes and ponds, a refurbished downtown, active in the winter with skiing and snowmobiling, and sporting such amenities as a wonderful hospital, two grocery stores, and a new cafe in town across from the more established women's clothing and home furnishings store, Craftworks.

Imagine our surprise, however, and pleasure to find this wonderful small town profiled in Friday's New York Times! It was a complimentary article too, saying many nice things about the area and quoting several residents and non-residents alike waxing on about all things Bridgton.

The major thrust of the article was about the outdoor recreational activities enjoyed here both in summer and winter. Bridgton is very much a four season kind of place and that point is driven home in this article. We already knew that - and hope the Times article will give a few more people a clue, too!

Read the full NY Times article here.

This past weekend, Bridgton proved once again that this area has more to offer than lazy summer days in the shade, fall foliage, and loon calls.

Up to 5,000 people - and dozens of dogs - showed up to watch and participate in this year's version of the Musher's Bowl Winter Carnival - offering a variety of both indoor and outdoor activities stretched over a 10 day period, ending last Sunday.

While the focus of many was on the dog sledding (and why not) others could participate in, or just watch, such varied activities as ice golf, broomball, and skijoring - that's where a dog pulls a human on skis.

Many signed up for a dogsled ride and others got a free ride on a snowmobile. There was a ping pong tournament, a photography contest, a dodgeball elimination tournament, and a biathalon (that's that crazy combination of Nordic skiing and shooting rifles at targets.)

Plus, there's the ever-popular jumping through the hole in the ice at Highland Lake affectionately called "Freezin' for a Reason", that benefits a local animal shelter.

All in all it was called a great success by Greater Bridgton Chamber of Commerce executive director Mike McClellan. In fact, he's already casting about for more activities to add to next year's program.

Oh, I forgot to tell you the best part - admission to everything was one dollar!

Click here to read a local newspaper article on the Musher's Bowl.

The town of Bridgton is one of the most popular destinations for buyers of lakefront property in the Sebago Lake Region. And why not? Bridgton has some of the most desireable lakes and ponds in the area, has a downtown that boasts a new movie theater, a new, expanded Reny's for retail shopping, a new Hannaford and updated Food City for groceries, a first rate seller of fashion and home furnishings at Craftworks, several attractive B&Bs and resorts, two booksellers, a wonderful new hospital, restaurants, a cafe...and the list goes on.

Located less than an hour from Portland and the turnpike and less than a half hour from shopping mecca North Conway, NH, Bridgton is ideally situated on well-travelled Rte. 302. If you've never been to Bridgton or spent any time there, be sure to check it out the next time you're up this way.

Find below links to all the lakefront homes currently listed for sale in Bridgton - not including the Long Lake, Bridgton listings. Those were posted a couple of weeks ago. There are some very nice lakes and ponds here beside Long Lake - Highland Lake, Moose Pond, Woods Pond, Ingalls Pond, and Foster Pond, just to mention the larger ones. Here are the current listings. Just click on the hotlink to get more information:

Moose Pond - four bedroom condo, ski and swim, great amenities at a reasonable price - $189,900.

Foster Pond - idyllic camp with possibilities, enjoy the peace and quiet - $219,000.

Moose Pond - condo, 2 bdrm, 2 baths, fieldstone fireplace, docks, tennis, furnished - $275,000.

Highland Lake - classic Maine camp, sandy beach, mountain views, sunsets - $349,900.

Highland Lake - 125 feet of shorefront, 2 bdrm camp, screened porch, mountain views and sunsets - $399,900.

Moose Pond - at water's edge, sandy beach, 3 bdrm, full view of Shawnee Peak, easy to get to - $425,000.

Moose Pond - 4 bdrm, year round home, 514 feet of shorefront, fireplace, deck, sandy beach - $549,000.

Woods Pond - custom built luxury home, year round, 125 feet on the water, panoramic views - $549,900.

Highland Lake - 4 bdrm home, 340 ft. of shorefrontage, Mt. Washington views, screened porch, deck - $569,000.

Highland Lake - 100 feet of sandy beach, contemporary, stone fireplace, 3 bdrms, garage - $595,000.

Highland Lake - beautiful custom contemporary, 500 feet on the water, garage, family room - $659,000.

Moose Pond - 127 feet of frontage, fantastic views, privacy protected, stone fireplace, lots of glass - $677,600.

Highland Lake - spectacular 12 room, 4 bdrm., custom home, 11 acres, 600 feet on the water - $1,485,000.

There you have it - all the non-Long Lake lakefront home listings for Bridgton. If you want to see the Bridgton, Long Lake listings just go to this blog post: Maine Lakefront Real Estate on Long Lake - An Embarrassment of Riches.

I got a call from my brother who asked me how the market is for lakefront property. I told him that selection was great, interest rates were at 5% heading even lower, prices had fallen 10 to 15% and sellers were motivated.

He said, "Tom, that's great news! Are you getting the word out to to those wanting to buy lakefront property?"

I said, "Well, I think so. But, you know, I'm not sure."

I told him that my message might be getting lost among the great deluge of "bad news" such as government bailouts, bank failures and unemployment figures.

The question is: Are all lakefront buyers being affected equally by today's economy? Many for sure, But all? If you are a lakefront buyer who is not suffering the ill effects of this economy you need to know something. There's never been a better time to buy lakefront property. The deck is stacked in your favor.

There, I've said it. But will people believe me??

When gasoline was over $4.00 a gallon I read dire predictions in the newspaper that gasoline was heading to $5.00 a gallon. It was all so simple. Now that China and other parts of the undeveloped world were now industrialized they were competing for oil and we in the U.S. were toast. Well, they didn't say it exactly like that, but that was the gist.

When oil was $142 a barrel how many would have predicted that it would be selling for a $100 less a barrel only a few months later? Where are all those experts now that predicted $5.00 gasoline by Labor Day??

Americans feel manipulated. Even Mr. Lakefront felt forced into giving up his beloved macho 10mpg Chevy Tahoe for a wimpy 20mpg Chevy Trailblazer.

Bad news sells newspapers and builds ratings on cable news shows. Good news, like the great news for buyers of Maine lakefront property, is being lost in the proverbial shuffle.

If you have ever wanted to buy at the right time, that time is now.

If you are among those who think we're in the middle of a deflationary cycle with regards to lakefront real estate, you're not alone.

It would seem that buyers continue to sit on the sidelines thinking prices will continue to go down. So far, so good, but playing the waiting game is fraught with peril because no one, and I mean no one, can call the bottom of any market - real estate, stock, bond, currency, gold, commodities, or fine art, furniture and antiques.

What we can do, though, is look at trends and draw inferences from history. Look at this report from Leeb's Market Forecast yesterday:

A widespread thaw in the previously frozen credit market is taking place right now. Rates on conventional 30-year fixed mortgages have dropped to 5.7 percent nationally, down from 6.45 percent in October, according to BankRate.com. That's a three-year low which has helped to push housing affordability back towards its record high. This fact hasn't been lost in consumers, as mortgage applications surged by a record amount last week to the highest level since March. Housing remains the key to a successful turnaround and the move in mortgage rates is just what's needed to get things moving.

If the rate for a 30 year mortgage continues to fall, buyers will find it hard to resist getting back into real estate. The same with stocks - as price-to-earnings ratios continue to drop to historic lows, investors start seeing bargains. When confidence in the future returns (as rates come down and prices fall), fear of the market will be overcome by the perception of opportunity and real value in the market.

At Mr. Lakefront we are not market timers, but we do know that preparation is the key to being able to answer that door when opportunity knocks.

Keep in touch with a local lender to know what that 30 year mortgage rate is doing. With the lack of activity in the real estate market over the last 12-18 months you know there has to be a lot of pent-up demand.

As soon as buyers perceive that money is available at an attractive rate and a lakefront property comes to market that is priced attractively, that will be their moment to act.

By the way, you can use our Lakefront Locator to stay on top of all the current lakefront listings for the entire State of Maine. It's easy to use, comprehensive, and updated continuously.