Harpswell's First Townwide Revaluation in 20 Years: Typical Tax Bill Up 9% as Rate Falls to $4.84
An analysis published on November 1 in Harpswell, Cumberland County, Maine, shows the results of the town's first townwide property revaluation in 20 years: the typical property's assessed value jumped by nearly 50%, but most residents' tax bills rose far less than their assessments.
The Harpswell Anchor's analysis of the town's roughly 5,100 properties found the town has cut its tax rate from $6.66 to $4.84 per $1,000 of assessed value to offset the higher values; even so, the typical tax bill rose 9%, mainly because voter-approved school, town and county budgets grew 8.5%. Just over 55% of properties are owned by people with a Harpswell billing address, another 15% by owners elsewhere in Maine, and nearly 30% by owners in other states or countries, led by Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Florida.
By 2026 assessed value, 41% of properties are below $500,000, 36% are between $500,000 and $1 million, 14% are between $1 million and $1.5 million, and the remaining 9% exceed $1.5 million. Mobile homes doubled in value and summer cottages rose 75%, the largest increases, because those property types were not part of a 2024 partial revaluation and the new figures reflect 20 years of market price changes. In one example, a Cundy's Harbor property's assessment rose from $131,600 to $226,100, and its tax bill from $718 in 2025 to $933 in 2026.
(Source: The Harpswell Anchor)
Source: The Harpswell Anchor
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：哈普斯韦尔波茨港。Paul VanDerWerf from Brunswick, Maine, USA 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Potts Harbor in Harpswell. By Paul VanDerWerf from Brunswick, Maine, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
