Probably benefiting from a number of things coming together, is my guess. Not that I'm an economist, or even pretending to be one. But birth rates dropped pre

Probably benefiting from a number of things coming together, is my guess. Not that I'm an economist, or even pretending to be one. But birth rates dropped precipitously throughout the 1960s, marriage was more common than in recent years, and mortgage rates were higher than in recent years (nothing like the 1980s, of course, but still, 7-8%). All of these, to my lay understanding, would tend to put downward pressure on house prices by reducing demand. Since then we've ratcheted up expectations for what minimal housing should be, which raises the price floor. Dropped interest rates, which pushes up demand. People not getting married need their own home, pushing up demand some more. Forcibly constrained sprawl, pushing down supply. Zoning, etc. It's hard to imagine how we actually lower prices significantly (aside from the bubbles, which I'd guess have as much to do with interest rates as anything else).