Breece speaks with Boston Globe for article on Steuben subdivision
James Breece, an associate professor of economics at the University of Maine, was quoted in a Boston Globe article about a subdivision in Steuben with oceanfront lots that began selling in 2004. Sales came to a standstill once the recession hit, and over the course of 13 years, only two homes were built, according to the article. “This was intended to be an upper-scale neighborhood and marketed like that. It just didn’t happen,” said Julie Ginn, the town clerk and tax collector in Steuben. “People here can’t afford waterfront property. We are not Bar Harbor or Mount Desert Island. We have the beauty of it but we don’t have the economy.” Now 40 to 50 lots on the 600-acre site are going on sale Saturday at deep discounts in a liquidation event that has been heavily marketed to residents in Massachusetts and nearby states, the Boston Globe reported. “It’s past the point where many tourists go,” Breece said of the area. “It’s not as desirable as Camden or Boothbay or Bar Harbor.”