Expert Witness Blog
Building distress expert witnesses may opine on issues relating to the National Association of Home Builders/Bank of America Home Equity Study of Life Expectancy of Housing Components
U.S. HOUSING STOCK:
The 2005 American Housing Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that there are more than 124 million homes in the housing stock, with a median age of 32 years. About one-third of the housing stock was built in 1960 or earlier. About 10 percent was built in the 1960s, and another 20 percent was built in the 1970s. Of the remainder, 13 percent was built in the 1980s, another 13 percent was built in the 1990s, and 8 percent in the first years of the 21st century. Of the total stock of 124.3 million housing units, about 109 million are occupied housing units, 11.6 million are vacant and about 4 million are seasonal. Two-thirds of all units in the nation’s housing stock are single-family detached or attached, 8 percent are in buildings with 2 to 4 units, and about 17 percent are in buildings with 5 or more units. The remaining 7 percent of the stock is in HUD-code homes. About 18 percent of the occupied housing stock is in the Northeast, 23 percent is in the Midwest, 37 percent is in the South, and 21 percent is in the West.