Renovation, not demolition, in O.C. housing; Insider Q&A with Richard Green
Orange County Register online
By Jeff Collins
...Us: A huge proportion of Orange County homes were built from the 1960s through the 1980s. What's in store for Orange County homeowners as local housing stock ages?
Richard: The Orange County housing stock is pretty young by national standards.
According to work done by Jack Corgell at Cornell, the typical home in the U.S. lives about 75 years from construction to demolition. Unless homes in Orange County were poorly built or maintained (and I would guess that they are neither), it will be awhile before a large share if the stock will need to be replaced. In this regard, it is quite unlike LA...
...Us: How will the aging of homes affect the O.C. housing market?
Richard: Ultimately housing does wear out, and that means it must be renovated or replaced. In either case, this creates demand for housing construction.
Us: Will this whet appetites for new homes?
Richard: If it is poorly located, yes. If it is obsolete (for instance, if it is energy inefficient), then maybe yes. Otherwise, it will whet appetites for home improvements, which make up about a third of residential construction in a typical year anyway. Prop. 13 also makes renovation more attractive than new construction...