7 Reasons Older Houses Have More Character Than New Ones

If you’re in the market for a new home, or simply love being around buildings with more character, you may have stumbled upon a fact that surprises you: new homes are less interesting than old ones.

Back in 2021 when my wife and I were trying to buy our first home, we learned this lesson in a very personal way. With a modest budget in a hot housing market, we were bidding on anything that remotely met our needs and checking every listing that popped up.

The market wasn’t kind to us. We made over a dozen offers, and our hearts were broken each time we failed to win. But with each one, we learned a little bit more about what we liked and what we didn’t.

In the end, the market made the decision for us, and we ended up in one of the very few new construction homes that had recently been built in our town. It was one of the few homes where we could comfortably pay over asking, and eventually, the seller acquiesced to our offer.

For a new construction home, it really had a lot going for it. The builder added a number of thoughtful touches that made it nicer than any other new home we had seen. And yet, I always felt a little pang of disappointment that I was now living in a house that was built in my lifetime, and didn’t have rich memories of its own.

While I’m grateful to have a lovely home for my family, and wouldn’t change a thing, I can’t help but notice some of the stylistic choices that seem to lead to older homes having a lot more charm. Here are a few of the reasons I notice:

More varied architectural styles

In the past it seems that styles were more varied. You had everything from victorian and craftsman to colonial and tudor. In today’s endless sea of suburban housing developments, this architectural diversity seems to be giving way to something less interesting. I’m all for new styles, and I’m open to the possibility that fewer but more distinct styles will emerge from this period. However, my fear is that these homes don’t have enough coherence to become a new style that we’ll love someday.

More intricate woodwork

One of my favorite details when looking at older homes was admiring the woodwork: trims, moldings, and banisters. I remember almost choosing to buy one house simply because the staircase was stunning in this way. While new homes have trimming of different sorts, they seem thinner and simpler, adding little character to the home’s overall look.

Beautiful built-in features

Another feature that seems far less common with new homes is built-in anything. I remember seeing older homes with beautiful built-in bookshelves, benches, desks, and cabinets. The homes we toured often had these features, but they clearly weren’t designed and built-in for the space. While this makes moving them easier, it’s clear that something is being lost with this convenience that is hard to replicate.

More detailed exterior facades

Modern homes are often built with cost-savings and efficiency in mind, and so extra details that don’t add to the functionality of a home, are often the first to go. For some reason, I have a memory of an older home with an lovely front porch. It said “welcome home” in a way that I can’t remember any modern home I’ve seen doing. The subway on the other hand, seems to be filled with big boxy homes, without the same intricate detailing on the facades.

Sturdier, more unique materials

Of course, most houses, old and new, are built out of wood. But for some reason, it seems that more of the older homes were built out of, or incorporated, stone and brick. Maybe this is just a regional or demographic thing, or maybe what I’m seeing is a trend. I do know, however, that when I imagine a house with character, my brain leans towards those built with a more varied palette.

Fewer homes with a cookie-cutter design

In my current neighborhood, the homes were built in pairs, and each pair finds itself with a similar layout, and similar aesthetic choices. My neighbors across the street have the exact same layout as we do, and look very similar from the outside. Now, this is an affordable neighborhood, and not exactly a luxury development, but if you look back you’ll see that the same thing can’t be said about the bungalows or ranchers of old.

Distinctive smells, even if just nostalgic

It’s hard to capture the exact smell of “oldness”, but something about it always draws me in. It’s a subtle, musky aroma that I’m sure others may find off-putting, but that I find somehow comforting. It’s a smell that reminds me of my grandparents’ home and therefore carries me back to those memories every time I experience it.

Homes with special features and quirks

A lot of the reasons I’ve given so far have been stylistic preferences. In other words, they describe differences between old and new homes that may come down to taste. But there’s something that old homes have that new homes simply haven’t had time to acquire: character.

A new home has a certain sleekness about it that can be impressive, but lacks the kind of personality that can attract someone like me and my wife to tour house after house, imagining our memories there. I remember seeing homes with such personality that we would wonder out loud if we’d be able to step into those roles naturally. When we saw a memory that matched us, we knew it had potential, even if the rest of the world would say it was quirky.

Nothing to Do But Wait

If you’re like me, and on the younger side of life, you may find yourself with a preference for older homes, or other similarly older “artifacts” that seem to have more character than their modern equivalents. You may wonder if there’s anything you can do to break this trend, that is, to build the sort of homes now that future generations will find interesting and attractive. I think the answer to that question is a simple one: wait.

While waiting does not seem like “doing” in the active sense that our culture loves, it is a powerful force. In fact, from the perspective of those living even 50 years from now, the only difference between a home built in 2023 and a home built in 1973 or any other time period, is how old it is. The older the home, the more likely it is to have developed the sorts of quirks and unique attributes that many (but not all) people find attractive. Therefore, simply by living in the homes we’ve built today, and stewarding then, we can help ensure a future for them in the generations to come.