Dive Brief:
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To find out where the newest and oldest homes on the market in the U.S. are located, Realtor.com analyzed housing markets in the 400-largest US cities based on the share of for-sale homes built there before 1900 and since 2013.
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The leading locations for new construction were found in the Midwest and Mountain regions. Meridian, ID, topped the list with 34.3% of homes built after 2013. It was followed by Edmond, OK, College Station, TX, Fargo, ND, and Lincoln, NE, rounding out the top five.
- Meanwhile, the cities with the largest share of older homes for sale were concentrated in New England and the Great Lakes. Boston/Cambridge, MA, led with 34.7% of homes built before 1900, followed by Newark, NJ, Allentown, PA, Hartford, CT, and Providence, RI.
Dive Insight:
Cities like Meridian have seen a pickup in new residential construction as population levels swell on the back of a robust job market, driven largely by a thriving tech sector, while the relatively low cost of living compared to other U.S. tech centers has made it an attractive place to move.
Demand for new homes is also growing as supplies languish and an aging housing stock in many parts of the country spurs the need for new construction and remodeling activity.
A recent report by the National Association of Home Builders found that the median age of owner-occupied housing in the U.S. rose to 37 years in 2015 from 31 years in 2005, due in great part to lower levels of new construction in the last decade than previously.
Inventory conditions are particularly tight among entry-level housing, as high prices and short supply are keeping existing homeowners from trading up and opening that stock to new buyers. Industry observers say an increase in new residential construction activity is key to speeding up housing recovery, but they warn that recent mortgage-rate increases could delay the expected influx of younger buyers back into the homebuying market.
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