Short answer. U.S. median existing-home prices have risen from $20,100 in 1968 to $408,000 in 2024 — a 20.3× nominal increase over 56 years, or roughly 5.5% compounded annually.
Compound annual growth in median existing-home prices from 1968 to 2024 was 5.51% nominal. Over the same period:
- Consumer Price Index: 4.0% nominal CAGR
- S&P 500 (with reinvested dividends): ~10.7% nominal CAGR
- Median household income: ~5.0% nominal CAGR
So in real terms
Median existing-home prices grew roughly 1.5% per year above inflation. That's positive but not as dramatic as the nominal headline. The "homes only go up" narrative comes from leverage: a 20%-down buyer with 1.5% real appreciation gets ~7.5% real return on their equity (before maintenance and transaction costs).
The decade breakdown
- 1968 → 1978: 8.6% CAGR (high inflation era)
- 1978 → 1988: 6.3% CAGR
- 1988 → 1998: 3.7% CAGR
- 1998 → 2008: 4.4% CAGR (subprime cycle)
- 2008 → 2018: 2.9% CAGR (recovery from crash)
- 2018 → 2024: 7.7% CAGR (pandemic surge)
Sources
U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Construction; National Association of Realtors Existing Home Sales report; Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey; National Bureau of Economic Research Business Cycle Dating Committee.