How old a house is considered old in DFW? (Dallas: hardwood floors, insurance)

[viviandynamite]

Hi,
I am wondering how old a house is considered old in DFW generally.

I moved from Seattle, where only houses before 1978 are considered old. It does not seem to be the case in DFW at all.

[TXNGL]

Depends on where in DFW and who you ask. 1978 wouldn't even be considered old in parts of Dallas. My hood was built 1963-1964 and I don't consider it very old. My childhood neighborhood was built around 1959 or so to 1962. It was new when my parents bought there. :-) Lots of 1930s and 1940s areas with original homes around.
In many of the newer suburbs 1978 would be considered old.

[Lakewooder]

You really aren't going to find many homes in the Dallas area which are older than 100 years. We have a lot of great areas with Craftsman homes from the teens and twenties. Until recently, generally speaking the more popular 'old' homes have been the romantic revival homes of the 1920s and 30s. Having lived in an area with a wide variety of 'older' homes I consider those very well-built. Personally I think the drop-off in quality began just after the era in which TXNGL's home was built - the dividing line is to me is pier and beam foundation with hardwood floors vs. the latter concrete slabs.

[TXNGL]

Agreed, Lakewooder. I don't care for the newer builds stylewise, and I don't think they're as well made. My mother moved to a 1980s build in an exclusive neighborhood and it was a nightmare. Most trouble we've had here, knock on wood, was an outside pipe bursting this winter. All we've worked on in the past 5 years has been cosmetic. Oh, and the new roof we needed resulting from that really bad hail storm a few years ago, paid for by our insurance!

[FarNorthDallas]

It's old if you are not the first people to live there.

[ladarron]

The neighborhood I live in was built in 1952.

[Dallas native]

Originally Posted by viviandynamite

Hi,
I am wondering how old a house is considered old in DFW generally.

I moved from Seattle, where only houses before 1978 are considered old. It does not seem to be the case in DFW at all.

It really depends on who you ask. I've heard people refer to 1990's built homes as old. My house turns 75 this year, but I totally renovated it in 2003 with new plumbing, electrical, HVAC, windows, roof, everything... so I consider it a new house that looks old (intentionally).

[Dallas_Guy]

Old is such a relative term. Many older homes here are very well kept and regularly updated.

[BigDGeek]

My house was built in '57, I consider it moderately old for DFW.

[MaryS80]

Most of the homes here have been built in the past 30 years. Generally the further outside Dallas proper the newer the homes. You had the post war baby boom that fueled the inner ring burbs, and from the 70's on a lot of migration from other parts of the US.