The average family has more workers, doing more work hours in it now than it did a generation ago.
I'd hope the average income is higher.
Also, how many years of the average family income does it take to buy a small family home these days? How many years of income did it take a generation ago?
The median US family income in 2019 was $75,500. The median US single-family home price in 2019 was $327,000. [1]
The median US family income in 1990 was ~30,000. The median single-family home price in 1990 was $79,100. [2]
Somehow, I look at these numbers, and can't interpret them as being 'good news'.
> The average family has more workers, doing more work hours in it now than it did a generation ago.
I'm pretty sure that the average household has fewer workers than a generation ago.
The number of single-parent households has risen from 12% in 1960 to 31% in 2016,[0] so more families are capped at one income-earning adult.
Meanwhile in two-adult households, stay-at-home moms/dads are as common now as they were 30 years ago[1].
And with housing prices, we're not really comparing apples to apples, are we? The size (in sqft) of the median house has increased by ~40% since 1990 [2], even as the size of the average household falls.
> And with housing prices, we're not really comparing apples to apples, are we? The size (in sqft) of the median house has increased by ~40% since 1990 [2], even as the size of the average household falls.
If all cars doubled in price tomorrow, but also started getting sold with three steering wheels, would you consider that to be great news - because cars are getting cheaper? The price per steering wheel went down by 33%...
Houses got bigger because the cost of land grew faster than the cost of construction. It doesn't matter that you're getting more square footage - because you can't buy a 40% smaller home for 40% fewer dollars. If you don't need, don't want, or can't afford that square footage, housing has become less affordable.
Likewise, colleges now provide all sorts of student services, that they didn't, back in the 90s. Also, tuition is now 5x-10x what it used to be, back in the 90s. Would you argue that college is now more affordable then ever, pointing at all the amazing services that are now provided by them?
But houses across the board are much larger than before. I live in a mostly 1950s era neighborhood and the houses are tiny by America standards. Almost all of them are <1,000 sq ft, two bedroom with a one-car driveway and no garage.
A modern house in much of middle America is going to be at least 2,000 sq ft, but 3,500 is certainly common, as the average size currently stands at around 2,800.
As someone in another thread pointed out - this doesn't help because all the houses are bigger (as land price has increased while construction cost has not). You don't have the option to buy a smaller house for less.
I'd hope the average income is higher.
Also, how many years of the average family income does it take to buy a small family home these days? How many years of income did it take a generation ago?
The median US family income in 2019 was $75,500. The median US single-family home price in 2019 was $327,000. [1]
The median US family income in 1990 was ~30,000. The median single-family home price in 1990 was $79,100. [2]
Somehow, I look at these numbers, and can't interpret them as being 'good news'.
[1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/release/tables?eid=206085&rid=97
[2] https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/census/historic/valu...