Firstly the number crunchers say that adjusted for inflation since 1950’s America an average house should cost $93.5k but they are currently around $410k. They completely ignore some important factors that make the cost way worse. If someone built a modern home by todays standards in the 50’s they wouldn’t be able to give it away.
In 1950 there were 7.3 people for every home in 2024 it’s down to 4.25 so inventory is much higher.
Homes were built to last over 100 years without major renovations, they are now projected to last only 40 to 60 and that is an extremely generous estimate. I’ve personally replaced rotten exterior trim on homes I installed the siding on less than 5 years earlier and almost all windows are framed in vinyl which only lasts 20 years when exposed to direct sun. And any flooring that’s not solid wood or tile is garbage in 10 to 15 years at best.
Before 1950 homes were built with hand tools, skip sheeted, lath and plastered, and every nail was driven by hand an average home had at least 600% more man hours.
Literally every piece of hardware, material, fixture, and appliance is extremely cheaply made and inferior to old stuff, appliances from back then still work today and can be maintained indefinitely if the parts are available. If you go into a 100 year old home and look at the door knobs, locks, hinges, heat registers, faucets they are all made of premium material compared to today the pipes were metal instead of poly vinyl chloride. A 2x6” was just that not 1.5- by 5.5- and the wood was high grade better than furniture grade today.
If these things were factored in when people compared housing prices from previous decades the numbers would be astronomical. Just the lumber would be $15 per board foot that’s equal to $125 per 2x6”.
Then got a job promotion into the middle of McMansionville and now I’m low balling boomers on their tinder boxes they haven’t taken care of yet still want a fortune for. It’s galling to look at sale prices of 300k 4 years ago and they’re holding out for >550 plus.
Also, fuck the epa and their bullshit global warming rules on refrigerants. Almost all of current ac systems will need a full replacement even over minor issues. Why? Because the new environmentally friendly refrigerant isn’t backwards compatible and companies got banned from making replacement equipment. So when your compressor dies that 2k fix is now a fucking 18k gut job.
What’s even worse is they also mandated seer 2. So now your air handler is 25% bigger, so hope your builder left plenty of room in your attic.
So many families about to pay through the nose on a mortgage and have a surprise 20k bill land in their lap.