Housing Stock Just Keeps Getting Older—What it Means for New Homes

The slow increase in the median age of housing stock in the U.S. points toward an increase of remodels. The median age of a home in the U.S. increased by just eight years since 2005, reaching 39 years in 2021. The rate of new-home construction fell while rising home prices push homeowners to engage in renovations and remodels rather than purchase a new home. New construction between 2010 and 2019 accounted for just 7% of owner-occupied housing. But the National Association of Home Builders says the rising number of owner households points toward a strong preference for new construction.

New construction added nearly 5.4 million units to the national stock from 2010 to 2019, accounting for only 7% of owner-occupied housing stock in 2019. Owner-occupied homes constructed between 2000 and 2009 make up 15% of the housing stock. But more than half of the owner-occupied homes were built before 1980, with around 38% built before 1970. Due to modest gains of housing construction, the share of new construction built within past 9 years declined greatly, from 15% in 2006 to only 7% in 2019. Meanwhile, the share of housing stock built 50 year ago or earlier increased significantly from 30% in 2009 to 37% in 2019.