Reisor.Team<\/a>\u00a0at Compass in\u00a0New York\u00a0City, tells\u00a0Realtor.com.<\/p>\nReiser says many buyers go in thinking their budget will be spent on improvements with an immediate and visible payoff, like refinished floors, new fixtures and finishes, or updated windows.<\/p>\n
Buffalo, NY,\u00a0Pittsburgh, and\u00a0New York City\u00a0are the U.S. cities that have the oldest homes, with median home ages of 66, 64, and 63 years, respectively, according to Construction Coverage\u2019s\u00a0American Cities. Tupungato \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
\u201cBut in many cases, the biggest expenses are tied to the unseen and sometimes unforeseen: electrical, plumbing, structural work, and other core systems,\u201d he says. \u201cSpending $200,000 or more on those items while having the home look largely the same afterward is not exactly an exciting experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Construction Coverage senior researcher\u00a0Jonathan Jones\u00a0tells Realtor.com that \u201cwhile older homes often offer unique character and a more accessible purchase price, buyers need to go in with their eyes open regarding long-term costs. <\/p>\n
Our research shows a stark contrast: Homes built before 1940 cost nearly 10 times more in routine annual maintenance compared to new builds, and they are nearly 30 times more likely to be in inadequate condition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones says the upfront savings can quickly be offset by ongoing upkeep and the need for major upgrades.<\/p>\n
\u201cOlder townhomes and co-ops often come with charm, character, and prestige, but they also come with very specific, and sometimes major, issues buyers need to understand upfront,\u201d\u00a0said Michael Reisor. auseklis \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
Aerial view of residential homes and streets in Buffalo, New York. Zenstratus \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
He also notes that older properties typically face higher energy bills due to lower efficiency.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a common belief that construction standards were higher in the past, and it\u2019s really a mixed bag,\u201d says Jones. \u201cWhile it\u2019s true that \u2018they don\u2019t build them like they used to\u2019 when it comes to certain materials and historic character, modern homes are built to much stricter engineering, safety, and efficiency codes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why the housing stock is aging<\/p>\n
One reason the national housing stock is aging is because the United States has been slow to expand its housing supply.<\/p>\n
In 2025, new-home construction fell short of household formations, widening the U.S. housing supply gap\u00a0to an estimated\u00a04.03 million homes, according to Realtor.com economists.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn today\u2019s challenging housing market, many buyers are turning to older homes due to the ongoing shortage of new construction,\u201d Jones\u00a0says.<\/p>\n
Aerial view of the historic Mexican War Streets neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Steven \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
According to Jones\u2019 research, a major factor behind this gap is the impact of\u00a0the Great Recession, when many construction companies downsized or shut down entirely, resulting in years of insufficient building.<\/p>\n
This sustained lack of investment has left much of the nation\u2019s housing stock older and more worn.<\/p>\n
As a result, homebuyers are often faced with properties that require significant repairs, expensive upgrades, and higher energy costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Homeowners living in some of America\u2019s oldest homes are facing a double burden as the housing stock continues…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":155578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[70503,70504,13252,238,73,75,74,1081,17604],"class_list":["post-155577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-buffalo-new-york","tag-co-ops","tag-houses","tag-new-york-city","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-real-estate","tag-residential-real-estate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/155578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}