Homes built before 1950 offer many wonderful amenities. They're charming, they're solidly built, and they're often located in desirable, city center areas.
But it's not all sunshine and wainscoting for the owners of older homes.
Given that they were built prior to modern construction standards, these homes are often less energy efficient than their more modern cousins and can be at higher risk of fire due to the building materials used back in the day. And that's to say nothing of the risk of asbestos and lead paint exposure in older homes.
But, as with almost everything in real estate, location matters when it comes to the age of a home, and according to a study of U.S. Census Bureau data conducted by Buffalo Business First, some cities are hotbeds of pre-1950 homes. Not surprisingly, most of them are in the so-called Rust Belt region of the Northeast and Upper Midwest.
Click through the next several pages to review the five metro areas 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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