1980s House Prices

Take a trip back to 1980! Discover the average cost of a house and see how it compares to today's market. You won't believe the difference! See United States historical monthly median single family home prices from 1953-2024.

Non-seasonally adjusted values, with and without inflation. The median price of a new home these days is about $426,000, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Looking back at 1980, the median new home cost more like $68,000. 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-to-income ratio today and held the same title in 1980.

North Dakota and Arizona residents pay roughly the same percentage of their income in housing costs today as in 1980 (27%). California, Texas, Hawaii and Louisiana. The average sales price for a house during that year stood around $76,375.

For new homes specifically, the median sales price in January 1980 was $62,900, with the average reaching $72,400. Discover the real cost to buy a home in 1980, including prices, mortgage rates, and lessons for today's buyers. See how much has changed!

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 $425,307.74 in 2025.

Meanwhile, CNBC reported that the average home sold for $47,200 in 1980. An analysis of this jump from Home Bay, a California-based real estate company, shows the median price per square foot for a single-family house has risen 310% since 1980. When adjusted for inflation, that's an increase of 24.6%.

Median home value increased in each decade of this 60-year period, rising fastest (43 percent) in the 1970s and slowest (8.2 percent) in the 1980s. Both home values adjusted and unadjusted for inflation are presented. The average sale price for a home in the United States was $76375 in 1980.

How much is that worth in current dollars when taking inflation into account?