Yahoo Autos 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.
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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 $324,300. 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.
Last updated: Sept. 16, 2021
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 2020 home: 24,587
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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 2020 home: 24,274
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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 2020 home: 24,238
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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 2020 home: 23,115
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 2020 home: 22,365
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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 2020 home: 21,072
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 2020 home: 20,080
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 2020 home: 19,189
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 2020 home: 17,692
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 2020 home: 16,512
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 2020 home: 15,218
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 2020 home: 14,093
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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 2020 home: 12,668
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 2020 home: 11,665
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 2020 home: 10,699
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 2020 home: 9,635
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 2020 home: 8,481
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 2020 home: 8,007
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 2020 home: 7,296
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 2020 home: 7,113
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 2020 home: 6,739
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 2020 home: 6,515
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 2020 home: 6,175
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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 2020 home: 5,852
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 2020 home: 5,447
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 2020 home: 5,218
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 2020 home: 5,000
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 2020 home: 5,027
