County age may impact housing costs
The nation’s 100 most populated counties vary greatly in median age. And according to a new analysis, that age may influence local home prices, too.
Young, working cities cost more
According to analysis from Trulia, areas with high numbers of working-age residents (20 to 64) tend to have home prices well above the national median.
Arlington, Virginia, and San Francisco are good examples. Arlington — largely filled with government workers from nearby Washington D.C. — has an average home price of $672K. More than 70 percent of the city’s residents are working age, compared to just 59 percent of the national population.
“The counties with the highest proportion of working-age people are in metros where one industry reigns supreme,” wrote Trulia’s Alexandra Lee. “These counties experience high housing demand from people in their wage-earning prime and, not surprisingly, have home values well above the national median.”
In San Francisco, 69 percent of residents are of working age. There, home prices sit around $1.3 million — well above the $217K national average.
Older areas have lower home prices
Sarasota County, Florida, comes in with the oldest residents, with 36 percent over the age of 65.
Matthews County, Virginia, and Flagler County, Florida, sit at second and third, both with 30 percent of residents over 65. In Flagler, the median home price is just $219K— despite its in-demand beachfront location.
Hudspeth County, Texas, has seen the biggest shift from young to old over the last seven years. Teller County and Park County, Colorado, followed close behind.
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