148 College Avenue: a fresh-launch market report

01 · Property snapshot

148 College Avenue

Facts below come from the most recent Maine Listings / Flexmls record (MLS 1654671), pulled on November 13, 2026. Assessed value is not in that export and is marked to be confirmed. The interior has not been re-inspected for this report.

Listing photo from the most recent Maine Listings / MLS record, used here for this private owner report. Stillwater River · seasonal water view · no water frontage recorded.

Item	Detail	Note
Address	148 College Avenue, Orono, ME 04473	Source: Maine Listings export
MLS number / status	1654671 · Expired on November 3, 2026	Source: Maine Listings export
Property type	3-unit multi-family	Source: Maine Listings export
Style / year built	Colonial / Cottage, built 1900	Source: Maine Listings export
Building baths	5 full / 1 half baths	Source: Maine Listings export
Number of units	3	Source: Maine Listings export
Finished living area	2,432 sq ft · $282.48 per sq ft at last list	Source: Maine Listings export
Lot	0.9 acres	Source: Maine Listings export
Parking	No garage	Source: Maine Listings export
Heat / cooling	Baseboard, Hot Water, Direct Vent Furnace, Electric/Gas Natural fuel · Cooling: None	Source: Maine Listings export
Water / sewer	Public / Public Sewer	Source: Maine Listings export
Taxes	$9,294 (2024 tax year) · Tax ID ORON-019002-000000-000020	2024 is the year on the MLS card; a later bill is to be confirmed
Assessed value	To be confirmed	Not included in this MLS export
Zoning	LDR	Source: Maine Listings export

Unit mix and rent roll

Unit counts come from the MLS feature fields. Monthly rents, leases, gross income and operating expenses were recorded as 0 / not reported on the card, so the rent roll and any cap-rate calculation are marked to be confirmed.

Unit	Beds	Baths	Rooms	Level	Monthly rent
Unit 1	5	3 full, 1 half	9	First	To be confirmed
Unit 2	1	1 full	3	First	To be confirmed
Unit 3	2	1 full	4	First	To be confirmed

Gross income

To be confirmed. The MLS income field is 0 / not reported.

Operating expenses

To be confirmed. The MLS expense field is 0 / not reported.

Cap rate at last list ($687,000)

Cap rate = net operating income divided by price. Once the rent roll and expenses are confirmed, this figure can be calculated. It is not estimated here.

College Avenue sits near the University of Maine, which supports both owner-occupant and investor demand. That is a location fact, not a rent projection. SI Associates, Jon's local property-management company, can handle leasing, rent collection and day-to-day operations for the next owner — or for you, if you decide to hold the property as a rental.

02 · Listing history

How the most recent listing ran

The most recent Maine Listings record (MLS 1654671) shows this property was listed on November 3, 2025 at $995,000. The MLS entry date is March 18, 2026. The last published list price was $687,000. List price reduced by $308,000 (-31.0%). Intermediate price-change dates are not in the export used for this report and are marked to be confirmed. The status changed to Expired on November 3, 2026. MLS days on market are recorded as 230.

Item	Detail
List date	November 3, 2025
MLS entry date	March 18, 2026
Original list price	$995,000
Last list price	$687,000
Price change	List price reduced by $308,000 (-31.0%)
MLS days on market	230
Status	Expired on November 3, 2026

A factual record, not a critique. This section restates the public MLS timeline. It is not a comment on the prior agent or brokerage. Plenty of well-presented homes reach expiration when price, timing or buyer traffic do not line up. The point is to use that record to plan a cleaner second launch.

03 · The Orono market

Current conditions in Orono

Figures below are from published sources, each cited with its date. No unsourced estimates are included. Months of supply is to be confirmed.

$297,448Town median saleOrono, the three months ending October 2026 · -19.7% year over year

53Typical days on marketVersus 58 days a year earlier

99.8%Sale-to-list ratioAverage Orono sale versus list, last 3 months

$285,000County median salePenobscot County, August 1–October 31, 2026

Redfin's Orono housing-market page, as of October 2026, puts the median sale price at $297,448 over the three months ending October 2026, -19.7% from the same period a year earlier. Homes typically went under contract in 53 days, compared with 58 days a year ago, and sold for about 99.8% of list price. Twelve homes sold in Orono in October 2026, down from 18 in October 2025 (-31.7%). The year-over-year median should be read with that small sample in mind. Median sale price per square foot was $209, +3.5% year over year.

At the county and state level, the Maine Association of REALTORS October 2026 Housing Report (released November 12, 2026, sourced from Maine Listings) shows Penobscot County's median sale price at $285,000 for August 1–October 31, 2026, -1.38% from $289,000 a year earlier, on 505 sales (+3.06%). Statewide, October 2026 sales were 1,547 (-6.58%) and the median sale price was $402,500 (-5.63%).

Realtor.com's Penobscot County market page (key indicators as of October 2026) listed 27 active listings in Orono with a median listing price of $334,000. A current months-of-supply figure for Orono was not published in the sources reviewed for this report and is marked to be confirmed.

05 · The next launch

Why it didn’t sell, and what I’d do differently

The property came to market at $995,000 on November 3, 2025 and was later adjusted to $687,000, with 230 MLS days before it expired — a long run relative to Orono’s recent median of 53 days. Multi-family buyers underwrite to rent, expenses and cap rate, not just to a list price. The prior MLS card does not include a usable rent roll or operating-expense figure (both are recorded as 0 / not reported), which makes it harder for an investor to write an offer with confidence. A second launch should lead with a confirmed rent roll, comparable three-unit sales, and a clear income presentation.

Lead with income, then with lifestyle

I would confirm actual rents, leases and expenses, publish a simple rent roll and cap-rate table, and price the property from recent multi-family sales as well as from that income. The 0.90-acre lot, seasonal Stillwater River view (no water frontage is recorded) and College Avenue location near the University of Maine still belong in the story — as supporting facts, not as a substitute for the numbers.

Professional photos and video

The next listing should open with a full still-photo set and a walk-through video, taken when the home is staged and the exterior is at its best. Buyers decide in the first few images whether to tour. I budget for that media up front, not as an afterthought.

Targeted social and Facebook ads

I put paid ads behind the listing — Facebook and Instagram, aimed at buyers and investors already watching the town and nearby communities — rather than relying only on MLS syndication. The ad creative links back to a dedicated property page, so we can see which message is actually getting clicks.

A custom property website and this report

You already have a private report like this one. For the public launch I build a matching property website and share a clean, owner-ready market summary with serious buyers and their agents. It keeps the story, the photos and the numbers in one place.

Broker-network exposure

Beyond Maine Listings, I shop the property through the eXp network and local agent channels — broker opens, targeted emails, and direct outreach to agents who have been writing offers in this price range. The goal is more qualified traffic in the first two weeks, when a listing gets its best look.

A pricing strategy based on comps

The list price will be set from finalized comparable sales, not from the prior ask alone. Once those comps are in this report, the working range and suggested list price will update automatically. If showings or offers are light after the first two to three weeks, we revisit price against that same evidence — not against guesswork.

Investor framing and property management

A buyer looking at a three-unit in Orono will usually ask four questions: what is the in-place rent, what could market rent be, what does it cost to operate, and what cap rate does that imply at the ask. This report leaves those answers blank until we have a confirmed rent roll — they are marked to be confirmed, not estimated. Once we have them, cap rate is net operating income divided by price, and we can show that figure next to the last list price of $687,000 and next to any revised ask.

If the next buyer wants a manager in place, or if you would rather hold the property and have someone else run it, SI Associates — Jon’s local property-management company — can handle leasing, tenant communication, rent collection and day-to-day maintenance. That can be offered as an option in the listing conversation, not as a requirement.

06 · Sources

Market sources

Subject facts and listing history come from the Maine Listings / Flexmls export dated November 13, 2026. Market statistics come from the sources below. Comparable sales will be cited to Maine Listings once they are added.

November 12, 2026 · mainerealtors.comMaine Housing Report, October 2026 (Maine Listings county and statewide statistics)Open source ↗Redfin · as of October 2026Bangor, ME housing marketOpen source ↗Redfin · as of October 2026Orono, ME housing marketOpen source ↗Realtor.com · October 2026Bangor market indicators (listing price, inventory, days on market)Open source ↗Realtor.com · October 2026Penobscot County market page (includes Orono listing count)Open source ↗

Not an appraisal. This is a broker marketing report prepared for the owner, not an appraisal, and it should not be used for lending. It relies on MLS and publicly published market data believed to be reliable but not guaranteed. The interior, systems and current condition have not been inspected for this report. Any figure that could not be sourced is omitted or marked “to be confirmed.” Values and recommended pricing may change when comparable sales are finalized and after a walk-through.

148 College Avenue
Orono, ME 04473