The median age of owner-occupied homes rose from 31 years in 2005 to 39 years in 2019, revealing the slow pace of new home construction following the Great Recession. An older housing stock paired with rising home prices signals a growing remodeling market as more buyers choose to make purchases based on affordability and renovate for upgrades down the road, says NAHB Eye on Housing.
Nearly 5.4 million new construction units were added to the national stock from 2010 to 2019, accounting for just 7% of owner-occupied housing stock compared with 15% of owner-occupied homes constructed between 2000 and 2009.
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.
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