Short answer. U.S. housing was most affordable in the mid-1980s — specifically 1985, when the median existing home cost 2.4× the median household income. The 2024 ratio is 5.4× — the most stretched on record.
"Affordability" is most cleanly measured as the ratio of median home price to median household income. By that metric, U.S. housing was most affordable in the mid-1980s.
Selected price-to-income ratios
- 1985: 2.4× (most affordable)
- 1995: 2.7×
- 2000: 3.1×
- 2005: 4.2× (cycle peak)
- 2011: 3.0× (post-crash)
- 2021: 5.1×
- 2024: 5.4× (least affordable on record)
The 1985 reading reflected a specific moment: the Volcker recession had compressed prices, the post-1979 baby-boom buying cohort was just starting, and median household incomes were near a real-terms peak.
Why is 2024 the least affordable year?
Three factors: (1) median existing-home prices have reached an all-time high of $408,000; (2) median household income growth has lagged price inflation since 2020; (3) the 6.84% mortgage rate amplifies the monthly payment dramatically. The total monthly cost of the median home — principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — exceeds 40% of median household income for the first time in the modern record.
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.