[aschearer]

Inflation: according to several calculators online, $100 in 2003 is roughly $170 (rounding up) in 2023 dollars. So 70% over 20 years. Meanwhile Case-Shiller has grown 123% over the same period.

Interest rate: in 2003 the interest rate was in the high 5's. Today it's in the mid 6's. So let's call it a wash.[1]

What I'm saying is, today someone is buying the same house, at roughly the same interest rate as someone twenty years ago except that today 1) the house is twenty years older, 2) it's also about 30% more expensive after adjusting for inflation.

I grant that means the person needs fewer than 2x the resources, but my point still stands.

[1]: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US