Along With an Affordability Crisis, Buyers Face an Aging Housing Stock

The U.S. owner-occupied housing stock has been aging at a rapid pace since the Great Recession due to a lack of new construction, and the upkeep required to maintain older homes is leading to a remodeling boom, the National Association of Home Builders' Eye on Housing reports. The median age of an owner-occupied home in the U.S. was 40 years in 2021, the oldest supply on record.

Roughly 35% of all owner-occupied homes in 2021 were built before 1970, while a bit less than half were built before 1980. New construction added nearly 8.3 million units to the national stock from 2010 to 2021, accounting for just 10% of all owner-occupied housing inventory in 2021.

Due to modest supply of housing construction, the share of new construction built within past 11 years declined greatly, from 17% in 2011 to only 10% in 2021. Meanwhile, the share of housing stock at least 42 years old experienced a significant increase over the 10 years ago. The share in 2021 was 49% compared to 40% in 2011.

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