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”.
There's is absolutely more homes today than in 1950, but families were also larger back then. It makes sense that there would be more people to every home back then. That aside, it's obvious that homes today are built out of paper, popsicle sticks and chewing gum.
Also, the number crunchers also lie about unemployment rates. If you're unemployed but work for Uber on weekends while you look for a new job, they count you as "employed." If you're unemployed but living with a partner, and you help around the house, they count you as employed -- you help your partner with chores and they "pay" you with shelter. They make up so many weird criteria to cheat the numbers.