Aging Lehigh Valley homes could cost buyers more
Lehigh Valley homes average 54 years old—older than the national median—raising potential repair, renovation and energy-efficiency costs for buyers.
A new analysis conducted by the research firm, Construction Coverage, found available housing across the nation is aging, and it’s a particular concern in the Lehigh Valley.
The typical home in the Lehigh Valley was built in 1970, making it 54 years old—significantly older than the national median of 43 years.
Pennsylvania, as a whole, has an older housing market. The report ranked Pennsylvania fourth in the nation for the oldest homes, with the average home in Pennsylvania coming in at 58 years old.
The concern is that those buying older homes are more likely to encounter costly repairs, renovations, and energy inefficiencies.
Donna Sacco, president-elect of the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors, said she sees it in her work that buyers of older homes are much more likely to face higher upkeep costs, potential repairs, and energy inefficiencies compared to newer markets.
She said with new home construction lagging since the recession of 2008, there is a lack of inventory of newer homes.
The report showed that just 8% of homes in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro were built since 2010.
With rising construction costs in recent years, that also places newly constructed homes out of the price range of many.
However, she said just because an older home may have a smaller price tag, doesn’t mean it’s less expensive.
“That affordable home can become much more expensive once you move in,” Sacco said. “There are often deferred expenses from previous owners. Most people buying an older home are buying a project.”
The older the home, the more likely it is to need upgrades like roofing, electric or plumbing. The report showed that while 61.1% of homes in the Lehigh Valley were built before 1980, 25.5% were built before 1940.
Homes built before 1940 are nearly 30 times more likely to be in inadequate condition and cost nearly 10 times more in routine maintenance than new homes built after 2022.
“When they’re buying a home ‘as-is’, they’re buying its condition and its future expenses,” Sacco said.
That puts one type of home ahead of the others on the market, she said.
Older homes that have been recently upgraded are in high demand and are fetching top dollar.
“They’re going really fast,” Sacco said. “People want those upgrades.”
She said someone selling – or even flipping – a house can add to its value by making upgrades to a property to make it more energy efficient with things such as new windows or a new HVAC system. Those will directly impact the cost of living in the home in the future.
The report did note that the age of homes varies greatly across the country. Buyers in New York State face a national-high median home age of 65, a stark contrast to Sun Belt states like Nevada, Arizona, and Texas, where the median age sits at 30 years or less.