Typical Home Will Soon Turn 40

Ranch style house

©Jumping Rocks/UIG - Getty Images

The U.S. housing stock is getting older. That likely means the aging housing stock will likely continue to lead to a robust remodeling market as older structures often need repair.

“Rising home prices also encourage homeowners to spend more on home improvement,” the National Association of Home Builders notes on its Eye on Housing blog.

The median age of an owner-occupied home is 39 years old, up from a median age of 31 in 2005, according to the NAHB’s analysis of census data.

More than half of owner-occupied homes were built prior to 1980. About 38% were built before 1970, according to the data. Owner-occupied homes constructed between 2000 and 2009 comprise 15% of the housing stock.

A pie chart showing the share of owner-occupied housing by year the structures have been built

Read more:

Where Housing Stock Is Aging: Which states have the oldest and newest homes?

Older Homes Gaining New Appeal: In some markets, houses built in 1939 or earlier comprise nearly one-third of the housing stock.

How to Preserve Housing Stock: Strategies focused on people and properties could help to keep at-risk single-family homes in circulation.

A Quarter of Homeowners Haven’t Moved in 20 Years: The aging in place trend has only accelerated during the pandemic.

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