[chickenpotpie]

Only looking at home prices compared to salary is very misleading because it doesn't account for changes in interest rates. Mortgages were almost 20% interest in the 80s. Cheaper doesn't mean much if you still can't afford the monthly payment.

Also looking at average price doesn't account for the rising quality of housing. In the 1980s the average home was around 1,700 square feet. Today, it is nearly 2,700.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US

https://www.newser.com/story/225645/average-size-of-us-homes...

[bluefirebrand]

Forget comparing old builds to new builds

If you look at the pricing trend of a single house, it tells quite a story

In my city, A house that would have been 80k in the 80s is listed between 500-600k today, depending on the neighborhood and how updated it is

In the 80s you could get a 15-20 year mortgage at 20%

Now you get a 30 year mortgage at 5%

If your monthly payment today is less than it would be at 20%, it is only because you are expected to be paying for it at least an extra 10 years compared to the past

There is absolutely no question that houses are less affordable today than they used to be

And that's before even thinking about how salaries haven't grown anywhere near as quickly as real estate prices

[tpmoney]

An 80k house in the 80’s means inflation alone accounts for ~$300k of the current sale price of the house. If the general area has built up at all in the last 40 years, that could account for a bunch more of that cost. Absolutely some areas and places are climbing way faster than their market wages are keeping up, but I also think a lot of housing discussion compares a house 1 hour outside of the nearest big city with that same house now in the middle of that expanded big city. Location matters a lot, and what is a great location now might well have been out in the sticks 40 years ago.

[chickenpotpie]

> Forget comparing old builds to new builds

Why? It's extremely relevant.

> In the 80s you could get a 15-20 year mortgage at 20%

20% was the rate for 30 year mortgage in the 1980s. My source is specifically for 30 year mortgages.

> If your monthly payment today is less than it would be at 20%, it is only because you are expected to be paying for it at least an extra 10 years compared to the past

That's a gross overgeneralization. Interest rates are lower across the board today.

> If your monthly payment today is less than it would be at 20%, it is only because you are expected to be paying for it at least an extra 10 years compared to the past

I never said they weren't but you also haven't provided any evidence that arent.

> And that's before even thinking about how salaries haven't grown anywhere near as quickly as real estate prices

You're literally just repeating your original claim with no new evidence.