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it's worth noting that housing has also gotten much bigger since the 1960s. A source worth looking at is the American Housing Survey, which is put out by the U

it's worth noting that housing has also gotten much bigger since the 1960s. A source worth looking at is the American Housing Survey, which is put out by the US Census Bureau. What I find most telling is that average housing in 1970 is comparable to sub-poverty-line housing right now, in terms of total square footage and number of rooms -- and average housing in 1970 had considerably fewer amenities (fewer full bathrooms, less likely to have a full kitchen, much less likely to have AC or in-unit washer/dryer, etc.) I won't attempt to tease out all of the issues that led to this, from changes in demand to zoning regulations to developer preferences. Just pointing out that "housing inflation" is a major driving factor in the cost of housing. As others have pointed out, there isn't a lot of affordable housing inventory, particularly not in big cities.

pnutjam 9y ago
If those houses were less then houses available now, it would also be worth looking at how they compared to high income housing of the era. My guess is these changes have been societal and it's proper to assume that cost should decrease or stay the same while function improves.
- lotharbot 9y ago
  you can see from the link malandrew provided about American spending habits (in a sibling comment to mine) that Americans are spending considerably more on housing, on average. I don't believe the surveys cover "high-income" housing, but they do show median / middle-income housing growing by the mid 2010s to roughly triple the 1970s square footage. Inflation-adjusted, that means lower cost per square foot. But it's certainly worth thinking about whether the shift to much bigger housing has been an entirely positive one, or whether it has drawbacks.
deleted 9y ago
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