See United States historical monthly median single family home prices from 1953-2024. Non-seasonally adjusted values, with and without inflation. Graph and download economic data for Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States (MSPUS) from Q1 1963 to Q2 2025 about sales, median, housing, and USA.
A house price-to-income ratio compares the median home value to the median household income, revealing how affordable housing is relative to earnings. The higher the ratio number, the more unaffordable the housing environment. Nationally, this ratio increased from 2.5 in 1980 to 4.4 in 2023.
Hawaii and California - with the highest house price-to-income ratios at 8.9 and 7.6, respectively. Home values for those western states had increased considerably. For example, Arizona's median home value increased from well below the national median in 1940 to above it by 1980 and remained above the national level in 2000.
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.
The data goes back to January 1953, when the median price was $18,080 (in nominal terms) or $207,781 (in inflation-adjusted terms). Historical Trends of Median Prices of Existing Homes The chart below shows the historical trends of both the nominal and inflation-adjusted median prices of existing homes in the US from 1953 to 2021. Credits: DQYDJ.
In 1980, it was $47,200, and by 2000, it had risen to $119,600. Even adjusted for inflation, the median home price in 1940 would only have been $30,600 in 2000 dollars, according to data from the. Housing Costs in 1980 Housing was a major component of the average cost of living in 1980.
The median home price was about $62,000, while the average monthly rent hovered around $290. This affordability relative to today was due to several factors including the inflation rate being lower in earlier years, and different lending practices. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the median sales price of an existing single-family home in the United States during 1980 was approximately $76,800.
This figure, when adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) calculator, equates to roughly $258,000 in 2023 dollars. 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.