What the Average Home Price Today Could Buy the Year You Were Born

The fact that the cost of an average home has skyrocketed over the years is hardly news to anyone, particularly if you’re old enough to have actually purchased a home in previous decades. However, what’s sometimes not as clear is just how much of that change is due to the natural creep of inflation — everything costs more now than it did in years past, after all — and how much is a sign of home prices increasing relative to everything else. With the shifting value of currency, the dynamic behavior of the housing market and the constant changes in the size and style of houses, the real causes of why it costs so much more to buy a home nowadays can be hard to suss out.

To offer more perspective, GOBankingRates conducted a study that focused on the size of the home you could buy in the past — dating as far back as 1963 — with the median home price of today, or about $315,086. The study pulled the median price of a home for each given year from the U.S. Census Bureau and combined it with U.S. Housing and Urban Development data to estimate the price per square foot in past housing markets. This allows you to see just how much house you could have purchased in the year you were born.

Last updated: Oct 4, 2019

1963

• Median home price: $18,000
• Median square footage: 1,365
• Price per square foot: $13.19
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 23,894

Related: 50 Housing Markets That Are Turning Ugly

1964

• Median home price: $18,900
• Median square footage: 1,415
• Price per square foot: $13.36
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 23,590

1965

• Median home price: $20,000
• Median square footage: 1,495
• Price per square foot: $13.38
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 23,553

1966

• Median home price: $21,400
• Median square footage: 1,525
• Price per square foot: $14.03
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 22,454

1967

• Median home price: $22,700
• Median square footage: 1,570
• Price per square foot: $14.46
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 21,792

1968

• Median home price: $24,700
• Median square footage: 1,605
• Price per square foot: $15.39
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 20,474

1969

• Median home price: $25,600
• Median square footage: 1,585
• Price per square foot: $16.15
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 19,508

1970

• Median home price: $23,400
• Median square footage: 1,385
• Price per square foot: $16.90
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 18,649

1971

• Median home price: $25,200
• Median square footage: 1,375
• Price per square foot: $18.33
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 17,192

1972

• Median home price: $27,600
• Median square footage: 1,405
• Price per square foot: $19.64
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 16,040

1973

• Median home price: $32,500
• Median square footage: 1,525
• Price per square foot: $21.31
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 14,785

1974

• Median home price: $35,900
• Median square footage: 1,560
• Price per square foot: $23.01
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 13,692

1975

• Median home price: $39,300
• Median square footage: 1,535
• Price per square foot: $25.60
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 12,307

1976

• Median home price: $44,200
• Median square footage: 1,590
• Price per square foot: $27.80
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 11,335

1977

• Median home price: $48,800
• Median square footage: 1,610
• Price per square foot: $30.31
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 10,395

1978

• Median home price: $55,700
• Median square footage: 1,655
• Price per square foot: $33.66
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 9,362

1979

• Median home price: $62,900
• Median square footage: 1,645
• Price per square foot: $38.24
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 8,240

1980

• Median home price: $64,600
• Median square footage: 1,595
• Price per square foot: $40.50
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 7,780

1981

• Median home price: $68,900
• Median square footage: 1,550
• Price per square foot: $44.45
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 7,088

1982

• Median home price: $69,300
• Median square footage: 1,520
• Price per square foot: $45.59
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 6,911

1983

• Median home price: $75,300
• Median square footage: 1,565
• Price per square foot: $48.12
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 6,549

1984

• Median home price: $79,900
• Median square footage: 1,605
• Price per square foot: $49.78
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 6,329

1985

• Median home price: $84,300
• Median square footage: 1,605
• Price per square foot: $52.52
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 5,999

1986

• Median home price: $92,000
• Median square footage: 1,660
• Price per square foot: $55.42
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 5,685

1987

• Median home price: $104,500
• Median square footage: 1,755
• Price per square foot: $59.54
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 5,292

1988

• Median home price: $112,500
• Median square footage: 1,810
• Price per square foot: $62.15
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 5,069

1989

• Median home price: $120,000
• Median square footage: 1,850
• Price per square foot: $64.86
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 4,858

Find Out: The Most Affordable Places To Retire in the US

1990

• Median home price: $122,900
• Median square footage: 1,905
• Price per square foot: $64.51
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 4,884

1991

• Median home price: $120,000
• Median square footage: 1,890
• Price per square foot: $63.49
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 4,963

1992

• Median home price: $121,500
• Median square footage: 1,920
• Price per square foot: $63.28
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 4,979

1993

• Median home price: $126,500
• Median square footage: 1,945
• Price per square foot: $65.04
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 4,845

1994

• Median home price: $130,000
• Median square footage: 1,940
• Price per square foot: $67.01
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 4,702

1995

• Median home price: $133,900
• Median square footage: 1,920
• Price per square foot: $69.74
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 4,518

1996

• Median home price: $140,000
• Median square footage: 1,950
• Price per square foot: $71.79
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 4,389

1997

• Median home price: $146,000
• Median square footage: 1,975
• Price per square foot: $73.92
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 4,262

1998

• Median home price: $152,500
• Median square footage: 2,000
• Price per square foot: $76.25
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 4,132

1999

• Median home price: $161,000
• Median square footage: 2,028
• Price per square foot: $79.39
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 3,969

2000

• Median home price: $169,000
• Median square footage: 2,057
• Price per square foot: $82.16
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 3,835

2001

• Median home price: $175,200
• Median square footage: 2,103
• Price per square foot: $83.31
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 3,782

2002

• Median home price: $187,600
• Median square footage: 2,114
• Price per square foot: $88.74
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 3,551

2003

• Median home price: $195,000
• Median square footage: 2,137
• Price per square foot: $91.25
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 3,453

2004

• Median home price: $221,000
• Median square footage: 2,140
• Price per square foot: $103.27
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 3,051

2005

• Median home price: $240,900
• Median square footage: 2,227
• Price per square foot: $108.17
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 2,913

2006

• Median home price: $246,500
• Median square footage: 2,248
• Price per square foot: $109.65
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 2,873

2007

• Median home price: $247,900
• Median square footage: 2,277
• Price per square foot: $108.87
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 2,894

2008

• Median home price: $232,100
• Median square footage: 2,215
• Price per square foot: $104.79
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 3,007

2009

• Median home price: $216,700
• Median square footage: 2,135
• Price per square foot: $101.50
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 3,104

2010

• Median home price: $221,800
• Median square footage: 2,169
• Price per square foot: $102.26
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 3,081

2011

• Median home price: $227,200
• Median square footage: 2,233
• Price per square foot: $101.75
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 3,097

2012

• Median home price: $245,200
• Median square footage: 2,306
• Price per square foot: $106.33
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 2,963

Read: The Most and Least Affordable States for Millennials To Buy Homes in

2013

• Median home price: $268,900
• Median square footage: 2,384
• Price per square foot: $112.79
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 2,793

2014

• Median home price: $288,500
• Median square footage: 2,453
• Price per square foot: $117.61
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 2,679

2015

• Median home price: $294,200
• Median square footage: 2,467
• Price per square foot: $119.25
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 2,642

2016

• Median home price: $307,800
• Median square footage: 2,422
• Price per square foot: $127.09
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 2,479

2017

• Median home price: $323,100
• Median square footage: 2,426
• Price per square foot: $133.18
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 2,366

2018

• Median home price: $326,400
• Median square footage: 2,386
• Price per square foot: $136.80
• Square footage you could buy for the price of a 2019 home: 2,303

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Methodology: GOBankingRates determined what today’s average home price could buy you, dating back to 1963, using in the following data points: (1) the average median home price per year from 1963-2019, found by taking the average of the monthly median prices of the year, sourced from the United States Census Bureau’s new residential sales historical data (data only went as far back as January 1963); (2) median square footage of new residential homes, sourced from the United States Census Bureau’s characteristics of new housing data from 1970 onward and the United States Housing and Urban Development’s characteristics of new one-family homes for 1969 and before. These two factors were divided to get each year’s (3) price per square foot, which was then divided by the 2019 median home sale price as sourced from the United States Census Bureau’s new residential sales historical data, which in turn gave (4) the amount of square footage a 2019 home price could buy you for that year. All data was collected and up to date as of Sept. 18, 2019.

About the Author

Joel Anderson

Joel Anderson is a business and finance writer with over a decade of experience writing about the wide world of finance. Based in Los Angeles, he specializes in writing about the financial markets, stocks, macroeconomic concepts and focuses on helping make complex financial concepts digestible for the retail investor.

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