New Home SalesCENSUS
490K
U.S. Housing Market · 1968
U.S. Housing Market in 1968
Existing SalesNAR
1.55M
Median PriceNAR
$20,100
—
n/a
In 1968, the U.S. housing market recorded existing-home sales averaged 1.55 million and new-construction sales of 490K.
Source data from U.S. Census, NAR, and Freddie Mac PMMS where available.
By the numbers — 1968: new-home sales 490K, existing-home sales 1.55M, median existing price $20,100.
Macroeconomic Context
Nineteen sixty-eight was a year of profound political and economic turbulence. Real GDP grew approximately 4.8%, unemployment stayed low near 3.6%, but inflation accelerated to 4.2% — the highest since the Korean War — driven by "guns and butter" fiscal policy. Congress finally passed the Revenue and Expenditure Control Act, imposing a temporary 10% income-tax surcharge meant to cool inflationary pressure, but spending momentum was too strong for a surtax alone to reverse.
For housing policy, 1968 was transformative. The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 created the Section 235 and 236 programs, providing interest-rate subsidies to put homeownership within reach of moderate-income families. Fannie Mae was split into two entities — Ginnie Mae (keeping government-backed mortgage guarantees) and a new privatized Fannie Mae authorized to purchase conventional mortgages — a structural change that would eventually deepen and expand the secondary mortgage market. The National Association of Realtors formalized its existing-home sales reporting series, giving economists the baseline data we still use today.
Mortgage rates climbed toward 7.0% as inflation expectations rose, but FHA and VA programs cushioned much of the affordability impact for entry-level buyers. The year also brought the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, urban riots, and the election of Richard Nixon — all of which contributed to uncertainty that would weigh on consumer confidence into 1969.