These reports can be deceiving. Its like saying a car is more or less expensive than in 1973. Or a cell phone is more or less expensive than in 1998. The product itself changes. Did the 1973 house have central air conditioning? How big was it? What type of windows did it have? How energy-efficient was it? Did it need to be painted every couple years?
I suspect that, generally, houses are more expensive today in suburban areas. But there are no easy comparisons.
Getting far less land these days.
Is the ground that much better?
And also, what were the Environmental Impact Fees in 1973 (if any) as opposed to today (which are quite substantial, at least here in Florida...).
The house I lived in the longest (we moved a lot when I was younger) was built in 1967, and it had central air and heat. Heat was natural gas.
It was two stories, and 1,900 square feet, on a quarter acre (maybe a third of an acre), and it only needed painting about every ten years.
I've been in modern houses that have worse hot and cold spots in them than our old house did, and they have much higher tech equipment and thermostats, and better insulation. Our old house did just fine as it was.
I currently live in a house built in 1969, and it's on a half-acre. It was originally a swamp cooler, converted to refrigerated air somewhere in the last 10 years. The master bedroom is converted from the original garage, and the air/heat isn't as efficient on that end of the house, but it's fine for what it is.
Again, I've been in brand new houses that are drafty, have poor heating/cooling, and cost a ton to heat/cool, because they're so poorly build, even with modern materials.
>> These reports can be deceiving <<
Definitely. And in addition to the excellent points you make, we need to be aware that the deciding factor for most home purchasers will not be the “list” price of the property, but rather it will be the monthly payment in relation to the buyer’s monthly income.
Moreover, the monthly payments are heavily weighted by current interest rates. So any tracking of home price trends needs to be adjusted by the trend and level of interest rates over the same period.
“These reports can be deceiving.”
That’s true. Realize also that the modern and recently constructed home has been mexicanized. That means cheap labor by alien invaders who don’t have a clue how to hang drywall, paint rooms, lay floors or install windows and doors.
If you’re shopping for a recently constructed house, you could end up paying tens of thousands of dollars to fix your mexicanized house.
How do I know that? I’m shopping for a house right now and many are pieces of crap that will require many dollars to make them habitable.