Large Stock of Aging Homes Signals Remodeling Growth

It’s no secret that new home production is not keeping pace with demand. One consequence of this shortfall is an aging housing stock that presents growing opportunities for residential remodelers.

Since the Great Recession, U.S. owner-occupied housing stock has been aging rapidly as the number of new homes built each year falls short of demand created by population growth and associated new household formations. That aging housing stock signals a growing remodeling market, as older homes need contemporary amenities as well as updated appliances and other components.

The median age of owner-occupied homes is 40 years, according to the latest data from the 2021 American Community Survey. A little less than half of the owner-occupied homes were built before 1980, with around 35% built before 1970. New construction added nearly 8.3 million units to the national stock from 2010 to 2021, accounting for only 10% of owner-occupied housing stock in 2021.

New home production has been slow to return to pre-recession norms. As a result, the share of new construction built within the past 11 years declined greatly, from 17% in 2011 to only 10% in 2021.