1948 New Home

What is the median age of a home built in the America? Good question… would you believe it is 40! In 1974, when those houses were built, the interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 9.1%; the median existing home price was $32,000; President Gerald Ford announced a $300 million mortgage credit initiative to help alleviate the housing market recession; and the energy crisis had spurred the incorporation of energy-efficient features in new construction.

What does the U.S. housing stock by age look like?

• 14% or 18 million homes were built from 1980 to 1999 (0-14 years old).
• 55% or 40 million homes were built from 1960 to 1979 (15-54 years old)
• 31% of homes are 55-95+ years old. We can break that down further to: 21 million (16%) were built from 1940 to 1950 (55-74 years old); 11 million (8%) were built from 1920 to 1939 (75-94 years old) and 9 million (7%) were built in 1919 or earlier.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011 Housing Profile, published July 2013.