U.S. Housing Market 1967: Sales, Prices & Rates

In 1967, the U.S. housing market recorded new-construction sales of 487K.

Year over year, new-home sales rose 5.6%.

By the numbers — 1967: new-home sales 487K.

Macroeconomic Context

1967 was a partial recovery year. Real GDP grew 2.7% as the Fed eased back from its 1966 tightening, lowering the federal funds rate from 5.6% to 4.0% by mid-year before raising modestly again. CPI inflation moderated to 3.1%, and unemployment remained near 3.8%. Riots in Newark and Detroit in July highlighted urban tensions and accelerated the federal Model Cities Program. The Apollo 1 fire in January and Israel's Six-Day War in June dominated international news. President Johnson's Great Society commitments continued at full pace even as Vietnam costs mounted; the federal deficit reached $8.6B, equivalent to about 1% of GDP. The Federal Home Loan Bank Board, responding to the 1966 disintermediation crisis, imposed coordinated deposit-rate ceilings on banks and S&Ls in September — an attempt to stabilize the thrift industry that ultimately delayed but did not prevent the structural problems that would erupt under Volcker. International capital controls under the Voluntary Foreign Credit Restraint program tightened in response to a deteriorating U.S. balance of payments.

The Mortgage & Credit Market

30-year fixed mortgage rates eased to roughly 6.4% as the credit crunch resolved. S&Ls returned to growth as deposits flowed back when money-market rates fell below the Reg Q ceiling. Mortgage commitments rose sharply through the second half. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, established in 1965, began the Section 235 and 236 programs, which subsidized interest-rate buydowns for low- and moderate-income homebuyers — a precursor to the 1968 Fair Housing Act and the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 that created Ginnie Mae. The conventional mortgage product remained 25-year amortization with 20–25% down for the typical buyer, with FHA-insured 30-year loans at 3% down providing the entry-level alternative for first-time households.

Cycle Position

New-home sales rebounded to 487,000, up 6% from 1966's credit-crunch low. The median new home cost $22,700. The cycle showed its second-derivative resilience: a year after a sharp tightening, sales recovered as rates eased. But the inflation pressure underneath was intensifying, and 1969's tightening would cut deeper than 1966's — beginning the credit-cycle amplitude that would peak under Volcker.

The Year in Long View

New-home sales of 487K were 38% of the 2005 record (1,283K) and 159% of the absolute series low (306K in 2011). The median new-home price of $22,700 translates to roughly $213,543 in 2024 dollars — a stark reminder of how much real-terms housing costs have escalated in six decades, even before factoring in lot sizes, square footage, or amenity creep. Mortgage rates pre-1971 are not part of the modern Freddie Mac PMMS series. Historical FHA and VA records put the prevailing 30-year fixed rate around 5.5–6.0% in the early 1960s, climbing toward 7–8% by 1971 — modest by every standard set after the 1973 oil shock and still well below the 2024 reading of 6.72%. Year-over-year, new-home sales rose 5.6%.

The Buyer's Math: What $22,700 Bought in 1967

Down payment requirements on the median new home in 1967 ranged from $1,135 at 5% down (FHA-style minimums) to $2,270 at 10% down (conventional floor) to $4,540 at the 20% threshold that avoids private mortgage insurance. With 20% down financed at the prevailing 6.33% 30-year rate, the principal-and-interest payment on the remaining $18,160 loan worked out to roughly $113 per month. Against the nearest-available median U.S. household income ($7,743 in 1968), that payment consumed about 17% of pre-tax monthly earnings — before property taxes, homeowners insurance, or maintenance. Over the full 30-year amortization, the buyer would pay roughly $22,434 in cumulative interest on top of the original principal. In 2024 dollars, the same purchase represents approximately $42,709 down and $1,061 per month — a useful translation for buyers comparing the 1967 entry point against today's affordability constraints. Pre-1971 rates are approximated from Federal Home Loan Bank Board annual averages, which preceded the modern Freddie Mac PMMS series.

Where 1967 Ranks in the 1963s

Within the 1963–1969 window, 1967's readings stack up as follows: new-home sales ranked 5 of 7 years in the decade (decade peak 575K in 1965, trough 448K in 1969); the median new-home price ranked 3 of 7 years in the decade (decade peak $25,600 in 1969, trough $18,000 in 1963). The decade ranking is a tighter frame than the full 1963–2024 history and helps separate cyclical noise from structural shifts — a year that ranks mid-pack within its decade is often more representative of the period's typical conditions than the decade's extremes.

Sources & Methodology

The 1967 figures on this page come from three federal data sources: the U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Construction (annual new single-family home sales), the National Association of Realtors Existing Home Sales report (annual existing-home transactions and median sale prices), and the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (annual average 30-year fixed mortgage rate). Recession bands are drawn from the National Bureau of Economic Research Business Cycle Dating Committee. Inflation adjustments use the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI-U series, and price-to-income ratios reference the Census Bureau's annual median U.S. household income table. Existing-home sales for years before 1968 are not part of the modern NAR series; the Almanac displays Census Bureau new-home data only for those years. Mortgage rates for years before 1971 are not part of the Freddie Mac PMMS series; approximate values for the 1960s are sourced from FHA and VA loan documentation and are noted only where contextually useful.

U.S. Housing Market in 1967