Housing

This 1697 House Is the Oldest For Sale in America

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Presumably, the oldest houses in America are those built in the centers of population over 300 years ago. These include the areas that became states, located along the east coast of what would become the United States. Indeed, many of the oldest houses are in areas in and near Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.

The oldest house for sale in America right now is the one located at 356 W. Hills Road, Huntington, New York, according to Realtor.com. Built in 1697, it is expensive by today’s standards. It is on the market for $1.99 million. The media value of an American house today is just over $287,000 according to Zillow.

The house at 356 W. Hills Road has six bedrooms and sits on four acres of land. Near the center of Huntington, it “built for Walt Whitman’s third-great grandfather,” the Realtor.com listing says. It also has a guesthouse and barn with horse stalls.

The value of the house has gone up most years it was for sale since 1997, when it was listed for $325,000. It was listed again in 2014 for $899,000. After several price drops, it was sold the following year for $740,000. If the current owner can get the asking price, the return over the past several years will be huge. Today, the house is among the most expensive in its neighborhood.

Huntington is about 40 miles east of New York City, about a third of the way to the eastern tip of Long Island. That makes it an attractive home for people who work in the city.

Huntington is an unusually expensive town according to the Census Bureau. The median household income is just over $124,000, which is close to twice the national figure. The median value of owner-occupied homes is $560,000. Over half of the adults age 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Huntington is close to a single race town. Over 83% of the population is white. Another 11% are Hispanic or Latino.

Click here to see the cities with the smallest income gaps in each state.

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