Jay Vorhees of JVM Lending posted a blog recently about how home sizes have changed over the years, and I found a lot of the information interesting. See a short recap below, with my thoughts at the end!
In 1974, the median home price was around $36,000; today it is around $467,000. So, the median home price is almost 13 times higher than in 1974 – which is a bit disconcerting, granted, as home prices have outpaced inflation. BUT, homes have also increased in size by an average of well over 60%.
Here are two articles illuminating this:
Both articles are a bit dated, but they beautifully illustrate the growth trend, and houses have only grown larger since the articles were written. And size alone does not begin to account for how much nicer houses are in general nowadays with better windows, appliances, insulation, layouts, storage, and construction materials in general.
So, when we account for the massive increase in size and quality of homes they are probably right on par with inflation, and probably not much to worry about either.
Kristin’s take: Homes have become a central part of our lives. We work from home. Our kids have play dates here, instead of going out into the fields to play as I did as a child. Parents want space to entertain. Our homes have become more than just where we eat and sleep – they are truly spaces in which we live!
I also wanted to point out in the first link above (American Homes Have Changed Much Over the Years), that it’s really interesting to see the evolution of which colors of appliances are popular. For example, in the 50s, it was canary yellow and petal pink. In the 70s, it migrated to avocado and harvest gold. The 80s and 90s saw shades (almond, beige, black), before giving way to stainless steel as we know and love it now!
