First- and second-time home buyers are choosing older homes — but not necessarily because they’re into antiques.

Instead, the choice often is one of necessity, according to local realtors.

That’s because there are far more old houses on the market than new ones — not surprising, since Massachusetts has the second-oldest housing stock in the country, after New York’s. And the prices of the oldies tend to be significantly lower than for their newer counterparts, brokers say.

“There’s really not a lot of choice out there,’’ said Gary Rogers, broker-owner of RE/MAX On The Charles in Waltham. “And new construction in most areas is 10 to 15 percent higher than the price of a home that’s 70 years older and similar size.’’

“I don’t see [new home buyers] saying, ‘I want an antique house,’’’ said Rita Gallant of Plymouth Village Realtors. “They don’t have that luxury. They care more about whether they can afford the house than the age of the home.’’

Added Erik Barrette of Evolve Realty Group in Plymouth: “They all would love to buy a newer home, but unfortunately in the market we’re in, because the inventory is so low’’ — and prices for newer construction so high — “most of the time they’re looking at older homes.’’

That said, plenty of those opting for old homes say they are happy they did so, and for more than financial reasons.

Take April Donahue and Thomas Ramsey, who bought a 1926 Cape in Brockton for just under $300,000 in November 2017. She’s a nurse at a Boston program for the homeless, he runs a dog-training business, and they had been renting in Quincy.

“We liked this house because it had good bones and a little more character,’’ Donahue said. “The house just felt very homey and welcoming.’’

They also liked the neighborhood, which has residents who wave hello, is close to shops and transportation, and has sidewalks — a must for walking their dog, Pete.

Connor and Carlie Donovan also are pleased with their decision last spring to buy their 1890s farmhouse in Reading. They had been living in a 1970s home in Salem and were open to new construction or old, but quickly discovered they were turned off by the sameness of the newer buildings, the echoing open spaces, and the tightness of the lots.

’’This house has been here 120 years,’’ Connor Donovan said. “We knew it was structurally sound. And it has all these beautiful moldings and a fireplace. There are smaller rooms, but they’re still big enough to be practical, while being really cozy.’’

“And we find fun things,’’ Carlie Donovan said. “When we insulated the attic, we found an old train schedule and a postcard from 1910.’’

Sneha Kadalur and her husband, Bryan Sundet, are moving from a home built in 1913 to one in Sudbury built in 1980. They would have liked to buy something new when they started looking for more space to accommodate their growing family. But the prices for bigger homes in the places they wanted to live were prohibitive, she said.

“Trying to get a new house in those areas, we would have to go over $1 million, so we didn’t want that,’’ Kadalur said.

Victor Normand, the broker/owner at Acton Real Estate, said most of his customers are looking for new or newer homes — “The customer looking for an antique is really the exception,’’ he said — but find the prices too high.

He said the higher prices “spring from public policy that is well-intentioned, but tends to take land out of production and tends to make the development of land more expensive.’’

He pointed to decisions to put land into conservation as one example.

“I believe in that; it’s a great thing. But if you take acreage that could be developed out of production, you make what is left for development more expensive. It’s basic economics,’’ Normand said.

Similarly, regulations to improve energy conservation also translate into extra costs, he said. “To meet all the regulatory requirements for a $250,000 home is the same cost as a $500,000 home,’’ he said.

Matt Cuddy,broker-owner at Century 21 Cuddy Real Estate in Framingham, said he also sees many buyers who “want new, and then realize they can’t afford new and settle for the older home.’’

But he said he points out to prospective buyers that “just because a home is new doesn’t mean it’s perfect. When dealing with new construction, it’s common that it’s not perfect — versus the older home that has stood the test of time.’’

He said new homes also tend to be on more marginal lots, unless they’re built on the sites of tear-downs, and then the prices tend to be beyond the reach of most new-home buyers.

“For first-time home buyers, there isn’t much available that is new or newer,’’ said Paul Yorkis of Patriot Real Estate in Medway, a past president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. “The number of new construction building permits in 2016 and 2017 went down instead of up. We need a lot more inventory.’’

This January, the number of homes for sale in Massachusetts dropped to a record low of 9,188, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. It was the second month in a row that the number of single-family homes for sale dropped below 10,000 — and a 32 percent decrease from a year earlier, the report said.

A study of home buying in 2017 by the National Association of Realtors found that only 15 percent of buyers nationwide bought new homes; in Massachusetts, the number was 4 percent.

“We have the second-oldest median housing stock in the country,’’ said Eric Berman of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. “We need to make it easier to build. It’s a big issue.’’

Susan Sinrich, a realtor in Swampscott, said there is an upside to the situation.

“People come to New England for the houses built in the 1800s and early 1900s; they love the charm,’’ she said. “If someone moves to New England, they’re going to have to get used to it, especially on the North Shore.

’’It really comes down to personal preference,’’ she added, “but in this area you need to allow your buyers to understand old homes’’ and appreciate them.

Johanna Seltz can be reached at seltzjohanna@gmail.com.