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SEATTLE - Despite recent efforts to increase Seattle's housing stock, a new study shows the city has an aging median home age, following years of underdevelopment.
How old are the homes in Seattle?
By the numbers:
Roughly half of Seattle's homes were built four or more decades ago. In just the previous decade, the city's population ballooned. Following the 2010 census, the City of Seattle estimated a population of 608,600. Just ten years later, the 2020 census data rose that number to 762,500 residents in the city. Both estimates are for Seattle proper and not the wider metropolitan area.
Creating a 20-year housing stock estimate, the city has reported there would be roughly 70,000 housing units added between 2015 and 2035. The median house here was built in 1987.
Houses—one modernist, the other from the Victorian or Edwardian era—on 7th Ave W just south of Howe St., Seattle, Washington, U.S. This portion of 7th Ave W is part of Queen Anne Boulevard. (Joe Mabel // CC BY-SA 3.0)
How does Seattle's housing stock compare to other U.S. cities?
Seattle ranks at 38 among the 55 largest metropolitan areas in the country. The median home page is 37 years old, with the median year that homes were built here sitting at 1985. The Construction Coverage study breaks down the numbers even more.
- 43.3% of homes were built before 1980
- 9.7% of homes were built before 1940
- 15.3% of homes built before 2010
Dig deeper:
The city with the oldest housing stock is Buffalo, New York, with a median home age of 65 years. It sits in the state also holding the title for oldest houses. New York ranks atop the list of states with the oldest homes, theirs is also 65 years old.
On the opposite end of the list, Nevada ranks first for newest home, the average age of homes there sits at just 27 years. The state's largest city, Las Vegas ranks third for newest home, at 25 years.
The American city with the newest homes is the Austin metropolitan area, coming in at just 19 years average age.
Local perspective:
Despite the underperformance of Seattle's building in recent decades, things are turning around. For example, one of the cities largest developments is getting closer to completion as dual towers rise over Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood.
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Decommissioned Boeing jet installed between two Seattle towers
A decommissioned Boeing 747 has been installed between two high-rise towers as part of a development at 1200 Stewart Street near South Lake Union. The aircraft will serve as office space, creating a striking tribute to Seattle’s aviation history.
The Source: Information in this story came from a study published by Construction Coverage.
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