Peter G. Morneau
A Kennebunkport, Maine home with sweeping ocean views sold for $12 million — the highest price ever recorded in York County — after spending a mere 90 minutes on the market, making it one of the fastest and most expensive home sales in Maine history.
The five-bedroom, three-bath estate at 267 Ocean Ave. sits 20 feet above the ocean, offering 200 feet of private coastline and a direct view of the Bush family’s Walker’s Point compound.
It also ranks as the third-highest residential sale in Maine in the past decade.
Broker Bill Gaynor of Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty said demand for the home was intense.
The buyer, described only as a “Chicago-based industrialist with significant ties to Maine,” signed the contract without even stepping inside.
They wouldn’t tour the property in person until two weeks later.
“This buyer knew that if he didn’t get it, someone else will,” Gaynor told the Press Herald, which was the first to report on the sale. “It has just a really terrific vibe to it.”
Built in 1969, the 5,000-square-foot home underwent a high-end midcentury-modern renovation in 2016 while keeping its Cape Cod-style exterior.
“It’s kind of a surprise, it’s a tease, it’s a sleeper,” Gaynor said. “Because it looks like granny’s little Cape Cod, and then you walk in and — kaboom.”
The sale highlights Maine’s growing luxury market, which Gaynor says still offers better value than other elite Northeast destinations.
“At the end of the day, Maine is still significantly undervalued compared to places like Nantucket and the Hamptons, where a lot of monied folks tend to do their shopping,” he said, adding that this home could have sold for twice as much in those areas.
The property’s rare combination of a high-elevation waterfront location, modern design and historic charm made it a standout.
“It has a really punch-in-the-mouth view,” Gaynor said.