Census · NAR median sale price series
U.S. Median Home Prices, 1968–2024
The median existing home sold for $20,100 in 1968 and $407,500 in 2024 — a 20× increase in current dollars over 56 years. New construction commands a ~12% premium, reflecting size and feature creep.
— Data through full-year 2024.
U.S. Median Home Sale Prices (1968–2024)
Notable Cycles
Four genuine peaks, four wholly different recoveries.
Existing-home prices peaked at $219,000 in 2005, fell to $166,200 by 2011 (-24%), then recovered to $357,100 by 2021 in the pandemic surge. Median prices have risen every year since 2012, even through the 2022–2024 sales freeze.Definitions
- Sales
units, K or M - Price
median, current $ - Rate
30-yr fixed, % APR - SAAR
Census - EHS
NAR - PMMS
Freddie Mac - Recession
NBER monthly
How Median Prices Are Calculated
The Almanac tracks two distinct median price series. NAR's existing-home median reflects all closed transactions reported through MLS feeds — single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops. The Census Bureau's new-home median reflects only contract signings on speculatively-built single-family construction. Both are median sale prices in current dollars — the price at which half of the year's transactions cleared above and half below. Median prices are nominal — not inflation-adjusted — unless explicitly stated otherwise. For inflation-adjusted comparisons across the 56-year span, the Almanac uses the BLS Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
The Pandemic Shock and the 2024 Plateau
Existing-home prices peaked at $219,000 in 2005, fell 24% to $166,200 by 2011, then recovered slowly until the pandemic-era pricing shock pushed them to $357,100 by 2021. The 2022–2024 sales freeze did not reverse those gains — supply was too tight. Today's $407,500 existing median is a 20× nominal increase over the 1968 reading of $20,100. New construction commands a roughly 12% premium over existing-home medians, reflecting size and feature creep over the period.
The Affordability Gap
Nominal price growth alone understates the affordability shock. The price-to-income ratio — see the affordability view — has expanded from 2.4× median household income in 1971 to 5.4× in 2024, the highest stretch in the 56-year series. When mortgage-payment math is layered on top — prevailing 30-year rates near 7% versus 3% in 2021 — monthly principal-and-interest costs on the median home have roughly doubled since 2020. For the cycle-by-cycle accounting of how that math compounds, the pandemic explainer walks through the mechanics in 2,063 words.