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How to find out when your house was built

The quickest answer is usually in the public property record: the local assessor lists a year built for almost every house. That number is a good start but not always exact, especially for older homes. Here are seven ways to find the year, from a two minute search to an afternoon at the registry, and what the age tells you about the house.

Updated October 31, 20267 min read

1. The assessor or property tax record

Every town or county that taxes property keeps an assessor record with a year built, the living area, the lot size and the style. Search the assessor or property tax site for your town or county by address, or use your state’s parcel map if it publishes one.

Housemap reads that record for you. Type your address and it shows the year built and the other assessor facts where the state publishes its parcels: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York (counties that publish), North Carolina, Florida, Maryland, Utah and the seven county Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Owner names are never requested or shown.

Treat the assessor’s year as an estimate for houses built before about 1940. Assessors often recorded a round number such as 1900 or 1920 when the real date was unknown, and some list an effective year that reflects a major renovation.

2. The deed and the chain of title

Deeds are filed at the county recorder or registry of deeds, and most are searchable online by address or owner. Work backward from your own deed: each one names the previous owner and the deed before it. A jump in the sale price, a new mortgage, or a deed that first describes "buildings thereon" often marks the year the house went up. In Massachusetts, registries are searchable through masslandrecords.com.

3. Building permits and the certificate of occupancy

For houses built since the middle of the last century, the building department usually has the original permit or a certificate of occupancy, plus every later permit for additions, roofs and systems. Ask for the permit history by address. Many departments answer by email or have an online portal.

4. Old maps and aerial photos

Fire insurance maps drawn by the Sanborn company show the outline of every building in thousands of American towns from the 1860s into the 1900s, and the Library of Congress has a large collection online. If your house appears on the 1910 sheet but not the 1895 one, it was built between them. Historical topographic maps on USGS topoView and old aerial photos from your county GIS office do the same for rural and suburban areas.

5. Census and directory records

Census records list households by street and house number. The 1950 census is searchable by address, and earlier censuses are at the National Archives. City directories at the library list who lived at each address year by year. The first year your address appears is a strong clue.

6. The local historical commission or society

Many towns have surveyed their older buildings. In Massachusetts the state’s MACRIS inventory lists surveyed buildings by town and street with a date and a short history. Local historical societies often have photos, old deeds and the names of the builders.

7. Clues in the house itself

Date stamps: toilet tanks often have a date stamped inside the lid or the tank, and older sinks and tubs on the underside. Original fixtures point to the build year.
Nails and lumber: square cut nails and rough sawn boards point to the 1800s; round wire nails and uniform milled lumber came later.
The heating system, wiring and pipes: knob and tube wiring, cast iron radiators or galvanized pipes suggest an older house, or at least older systems.
The style: a Cape, a triple decker, a ranch or a split level each had its decades. Style narrows the range; paper settles it.

Why the age of your house matters

Lead paint: homes built before 1978 may contain lead based paint, according to the EPA. Test before sanding or scraping.
Hidden materials: older homes can have asbestos in insulation, flooring or pipe wrap. Have suspect material tested before disturbing it.
Systems to check: an older house may still have original wiring, pipes or a chimney liner that needs an inspection.
The maintenance plan: a 1956 Cape and a 2015 colonial need different things this year. Housemap uses the year built and the climate to build a plan for your house; see how long appliances and systems last.

Questions

How can I find out when my house was built?

Look up your address on the local assessor or property tax site, which lists a year built. To confirm it, check the deeds at the county recorder or registry of deeds, the permit history at the building department, old maps such as Sanborn fire insurance maps, and census records.

Is the year built on Zillow or the tax record accurate?

Usually within a few years for newer homes. For houses built before about 1940 the assessor often recorded an estimate or a round number, and real estate sites copy it. Deeds and old maps give a better date.

Can I find out how old my house is by address?

Yes. Assessor records, registry of deeds searches, the 1950 census and the Library of Congress map collection are all public records you can search by address.

How does Housemap find the year built?

It reads the public assessor record for the address in states that publish statewide parcel data, and shows the year built, living area, style and lot. It never requests or shows owner names.

Sources

Type your address. See the year built.

Housemap reads the public record for your house where the state publishes one, then builds a maintenance plan for a house of that age in your climate.

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