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
More From GOBankingRates
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.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What the Average Home Price Today Could Buy the Year You Were Born
