The average age of homes sold has seen a significant increase as a result of fewer new homes being built now as compared to previous decades. The change has been seen across the Phoenix metropolitan area, as well as throughout the country.

The information was announced in a recent report from real estate marketplace Zillow. 

“Building activity came to a near-standstill when the housing market collapsed, and now a decade later, years of under-building have left a gap of millions of homes missing from the American housing stock,” said Zillow Senior Economist Aaron Terrazas. “In nearly every major market today, single-family homes are being permitted at a lower rate than they were historically as builders face a number of challenges in adding new homes, including land and labor costs. What this means for buyers is a smaller supply of homes on the market, leading to increased competition and higher home prices.” 

Monthly reports from the North Phoenix News suggest that prices have been increased by the shrinking inventory of homes for sale. According to Zillow’s new analysis, the Phoenix metropolitan area has been an inventory drop of 9.4 percent over the last year.

Single-family home permits have seen a recent change within the Phoenix metropolitan area. From 1985 to 2000, 9.2 permits were issued for every 1,000 residents and the rate dropped to 2.9 permits for every 1,000 from 2008-2018. Another statistical change has included the median age of homes sold, as it was 10 years in 2007 and jumped to 23 years in 2017.

The national statistics slightly differ, but the trends remain consistent in both single-family home permits and median age of homes sold. Single-family home permits dropped from 3.9 per 1,000 residents from 1985 to 2000, to 1.9 permits for every 1,000 residents from 2008-2018. The median age of homes sold changed from 24 years in 2007, to 37 years in 2017.