Maybe these graphs will help: Median Family Income: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPNHSUS https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPNHSUS Median Price of Ne

Maybe these graphs will help: Median Family Income: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPNHSUS https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPNHSUS Median Price of New Homes: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEFAINUSA672N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEFAINUSA672N Comparing 1965 to 2015, in 1965 a new home cost less than half of what a family earned in a year, in 2015 it cost 4 times annual earnings. Times have changed. The crossover point, where median house prices exceeded median family annual incomes didn't occur until the 1980s -- meaning people who bought houses during that period or prior likely had little trouble servicing multi-decade mortgages, or even paying them off early.