As single-family home construction increases, the typical age of a home in the U.S. has decreased. Nationwide, the median year a home was built is now 1980, making it four years newer than a decade ago, according to online real estate database PropertyShark. Over the past 10 years, 86% of cities with at least 25,000 residents have seen a decline in the median year built. The most dramatic changes include a 25-year drop in Williston, N.D., and Farmers Branch, Texas. Among major cities, Jersey City, N.J., experienced the steepest decline at 18 years, followed by Atlanta and Seattle, which each saw a 14-year decrease in home age.
Of course, construction of new housing was the main driver of decreasing median homes ages, spurred by existing shortages, growing populations and migration trends: The population inflow to the Sunbelt was also reflected in the fact that 37% of U.S. cities where the median home age decreased were in Southern states. By comparison, the Northeast claimed only 11% of cities where the age of homes went down. Read more
