KEY FINDINGS: HOMEBUYING IN THE 1980S VS. TODAY Nine states more than doubled their house price-to-income ratio between 1980 and 2023, including Massachusetts, which went from 2.4 to 5.7. Hawaii has the highest house price.
House price-to-income ratio: Now vs. 1980 The states with the highest home price-to-income ratios, making them least affordable for home buyers, in 2023 vs. 1980.
This calculator uses the official Consumer Price Index for Housing from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Housing costing $100,000 in 1980 would cost $431,754.50 in 2026.
Below, I provide and graph historical monthly median single-family home values in the United States. Significantly, this data is non. Drawing on historical data from home sizes, prices, incomes, mortgage rates, and down payments, dissecting affordability then and now is not as black-and-white as you might think.
High rates crushed 1980s buyers, but today's barriers are broader and more structural. The Evolution of the American Home: Bigger, But at What Cost? U.S.
House Price Index: 706.04 as of September 2025. Units: Index 1980:Q1=100 Frequency: Quarterly Release: House Price Index Source: U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Historical Chart Zoom 5Y.
The Implication for House Prices Although there are differences between the 1980 period and today (for example, demographics are currently favorable, but nothing like 1980), there are many similarities. In the 1980 period, nominal house prices only declined slightly according to the Case. Housing prices tracked the CPI very closely until the early 1980's suggesting that the overall level of inflation was a key determinant.
However, that relationship broke down around 1983, and volatility increased along with significant price surges in the mid 1980's, 1998-2006, 2012-2017, and 2020. It's easy to look at the numbers from 1980 and think homes were a bargain, but inflation changes everything. Adjusted for inflation, that $47,200 home would cost about $170,000 in today's dollars.
While that's still less than the current median price, the cost to buy a home in 1980 wasn't as low as it might seem at first glance. Boomers "Win" the Contest for Having Struggled the Most Apparently, it actually was more difficult for Boomers to buy a house back in the day! According to this Yahoo Finance article, a recent analysis of historic home prices, income levels and mortgage rates found that the toughest housing market for first.