Housing

This 1672 House Is the Oldest For Sale in America

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: April 22, 2021 8:15 am

Homes that are 200 years older or more are not uncommon, particularly in the areas around the 13 original states. Some homes in New England were built in the 1700s. It is rare to find any much older.

Realtor.com looked for the oldest house currently for sale in America. Located at 51 Lake Street in Norfolk, Massachusetts, this home is on the market for $1.1 million. For that, a buyer gets a relatively large house that covers 4,048 square feet. It includes four bedrooms and 3.5 baths. It also sits on a very large piece of property that covers 17.5 acres. The lakeside house has a tennis court and an in-ground pool.

Norfolk is located about midway between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island. It sits between I-95, which runs roughly northeast to southwest, and I-495, which runs roughly northwest to southeast. It is also near Foxborough, home to the New England Patriots.

Norfolk has a little over 12,000 residents. They are wealthy by U.S. standards, with a median household income of $145,817, and almost 84% white. The median value of a home is $656,873, so the house at 51 Lake St. is at the high end of the market. The town covers 14.8 square miles, which means its population density is 757 people per square mile. Unemployment is an extremely low 5.6%.

According to CoreLogic, housing prices have soared in the past year, which is not surprising given the nearly nationwide migration to suburbs driven to some extent by the COVID-19 pandemic. The last time this house was sold, in 1987, the price was $481,000. Most of the nearby homes are on the market for between $799,000 and $1 million.

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