Study: QCA homes in top ten for oldest median age

Buying a home is on just about everyone’s ‘to-do’ list.

When done correctly, it can be a sound investment in a person’s (or family’s) future. However, a new study released by the research company ‘Construction Coverage’ is shining light on an interesting trend.

According to the latest version of its ‘American Cities With the Oldest Homes’ study, the Quad Cities area has a median home age of 57. That’s 6th-highest among small and mid-sized metropolitan areas across the United States. The study also says the share of homes built before the year 1980 in the QCA is just below 70 percent, and that the share of homes built after 2010 in the area is just above 7 percent.

“The Quad Cities, like most of the other communities that are on the list… is a place that had a massive industrial boom in the 19th and like early 20th centuries,” says Dr. Brian Leech, a historian and associate professor at Augustana College. “Around here, so much was driven by farm implements, John Deere in particular, and so we had this big boom, and that boom is when most of those houses were built.”

Other factors, like geography limiting growth in some cities and our area’s culture of historic preservation, could also be reasons behind the aging home inventory. But Dr. Leech says the idea of an inventory being older isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“A lot of those homes actually were built pretty well,” Dr. Leech said. “There was a lot of great immigrant craftsmanship, Belgians, Germans, Swedes, all the people who came here, built some pretty nice, effective homes that I think are standing still for good reasons.”

Chris True, a realtor with EXP Realty in the Quad Cities, agrees with the idea that quality homes can stand the tests of time.

“This is not like buying an old car with 200,000 miles on it for $3,000,” True says. “If you buy an old home, and as long as we look at it carefully, we get the proper inspections done, they’re usually not money pits.”

That said, True does admit there are some things to look for when considering purchasing an older home.

“Possible older electrical, older plumbing, and those are things that I look out for for my clients,” True assured. “And then the home inspector looks out for, and if things are real bad, an appraiser would flag it.”

Dr. Leech agrees that there are some benefits to going older when it comes to home buying.

“One of the advantages, especially around here, is that sometimes you get them for much cheaper prices,” said Dr. Leech. “You can put the money into making them an even nicer older home.”

“Don’t just say I only will look at homes built in the 1980s or newer because you’re missing out on a lot of properties and it’s a potential to get something for a better price,” True warns. “It’s just you need proper guidance and have proper expectations and the right conversations need to happen.”

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