In 1992, I bought my first home, a three-bedroom, for $92,000. My parents thought it an outrageous sum but it was actually a pretty good deal.
In 2014, I bought my current 4-bedroom home in CT for just under $600,000. It's a nice home but really not that much better than the home my parents bought in 1969 for $13,000 (and that house would sell for at least $500,000 today).
Home rates have gone up at an astonishing rate the past 40-50 years. Way more than incomes have gone up. I just don't see how this can be sustained. In many major markets, the average price of a home puts them out of reach for most people not making a six figure income.
My two grown sons both have good jobs that pay well but live in apartments up in Boston area. There is no way they can afford a home at Boston area prices at their incomes - which is pretty decent for their age bracket.
So basically, I think we might be in for a long period of time where housing prices are stagnant or even drop a bit. I don't see that as a bad thing.
Now; adjust all those numbers for inflation.
I bought my first brand-new car in ‘74 for $3,750.
My last one in 2011 for $33,000.
Which actually cost more?