Homes built before 1950 offer many wonderful amenities. They'recharming, they're solidly built, and they're often located indesirable, city center areas.
|But it's not all sunshine and wainscoting for the owners ofolder homes.
|Given that they were built prior to modern constructionstandards, these homes are often less energy efficient than theirmore modern cousins and can be at higher risk of fire due to thebuilding materials used back in the day. And that's to say nothingof the risk of asbestos and lead paint exposure in olderhomes.
|But, as with almost everything in real estate, location matterswhen it comes to the age of a home, and according to a study ofU.S. Census Bureau data conducted by Buffalo Business First, some cities arehotbeds of pre-1950 homes. Not surprisingly, most of them are inthe so-called Rust Belt region of the Northeast and UpperMidwest.
|Click through the next several pages to review the five metroareas with the oldest housing stock.
||
#5 – Worcester, MA
|Total housing units: 326,345
|Built in 1949 or earlier: 128,688
|Percentage share: 39.43%
||
#4 – Providence-New Bedford-Fall River,RI-MA
|Total housing units: 692,872
|Built in 1949 or earlier: 286,028
|Percentage share: 41.28%
||
#3 – Boston – Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
|Total housing units: 1,880,487
|Built in 1949 or earlier: 783,543
|Percentage share: 41.67%
||
#2 – Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
|Total housing units: 519,208
|Built in 1949 or earlier: 220,412
|Percentage share: 42.45%
||
#1 – Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA
|Total housing units: 258,766
|Built in 1949 or earlier: 126,169
|Percentage share: 48.76%
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