If it's your dream to have a retreat on water, a cabin on an inland lake or river is the way to go.

I know this because I have just received the "summer guide" of Down East magazine.

The properties this "consumer" magazine advertises are so expensive that no one except the seven-figure crowd can afford to buy on the ocean or its adjacent inlets.

Land near the ocean has always been expensive.

But prices are so elevated now that it's almost funny.

From the April issue:

A "Southern colonial" at Owls Head for $1.3 million.

A six-room "beautifully maintained" house in Southport for $1.4 million.

A 1,400 square foot cottage on Kennebunk Beach for $1.9 million.

There are less expensive properties than these, of course, but there are many that are more costly.

Your Scribe finds the most curious statistic about the real-estate market is that the median Maine houseland income, according to Down East, is $39,000.

So few properties will be falling into the hands of those who live here.

Of course, the best properties have always been purchased by the rich.

From the Rockefellers to Martha Stewart, the monied home buyers have always secured the most glorious properties.

It just seems like now every property is getting too expensive for mere mortals.

Even waterfront property in communities that didn't use to be on the A List, such as Biddeford, Rockland and Belfast, is suddenly very expensive.

Which gets Your Scribe back to square one: If you want affordable vacation property, consider the lakes and rivers of inland Maine.

In coming weeks I will attempt to identify properties that might be attainable - and I will publish my findings on this blog.

If you are trying to sell a property, send me a note through the "comment" function at the bottom of this page.

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