Waterfront, Historic, Lake Access
1900 Waterfront Home, Katahdin Views, Baxter State Park 10 Minutes Away — $140,000
7
out of 10
HousesUnder150K Score
Property Merit 50% · Condition 25% · Price/Sq Ft 15% · Market 10%
| Category | Wt. | Score | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Merit | 50% | 8 | Waterfront 1900 home, Katahdin views, Baxter Park proximity, four-season recreation hub |
| Condition | 25% | 6 | "Remodeled" claimed but no system dates; loft needs work; vague specifics limit score |
| Price / Sq Ft | 15% | 5 | Listing $128/sqft vs zip median $115/sqft — 11% above median; 5 thin comps |
| Price vs. Market | 5% | 8 | $140K vs $236,897 zip median — 41% below; waterfront premium not priced in |
| Market Conditions | 5% | 9 | Sale-to-list 88.6%, price drops 41.7%, DOM 35 — strong buyer's market signals |
The zip median for this area is $236,897. This house is listed at $140,000. That gap alone is worth paying attention to, and then you add waterfront and views of Mount Katahdin from the road, and the math gets more interesting.
The house itself is a 1900 three-bedroom, one-bath on well and septic, 1,092 square feet. The agent calls it remodeled but offers no dates on systems, no specifics on what was done. That vagueness matters. You should go in assuming you will find things that need attention, because the listing does nothing to reassure you otherwise. The upstairs loft is acknowledged to need work, which is at least honest. If you were to finish it properly, it could function as a primary bedroom.
The footprint is tight. Kitchen, living room, mudroom, three bedrooms, one bath. This is a house that works for a couple or a small family willing to live compactly in exchange for what surrounds it. And what surrounds it is the point.
Baxter State Park is close. Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is close. Shin Pond is nearby. Island Falls, ten miles out, has a golf course and two lakes. The snowmobile and ATV trail access is real, and the hunting and fishing in this part of Maine is well established. Houlton is 37 minutes. Bangor is 90 minutes. The interstate is 10 miles away. For a rural Maine property this deep into the Katahdin region, that is solid connectivity.
The market itself is working in a buyer's favor right now. More than 40 percent of listings in this area have taken price cuts, and the average sale comes in nearly 12 percent below list. This one is already priced well below the area median, and there may be room to negotiate further.
The condition uncertainty is the thing to take seriously. Get a thorough inspection and get eyes on those systems before you commit. But if the house comes back clean, or close to it, $140,000 for waterfront with Katahdin views in a buyer's market is a number that would have looked different a few years ago.
