Homeownership Dreams Deferred: Why Buying a House Is Harder Than Ever for Millennials and Gen Z

In the 1920s, the average home price in the U.S. was around $6,300, which would be approximately $95,000 today after adjusting for inflation. Fast forward to 2024, and the average home price has soared to $404,500. So, what changed?

Let’s start in the 1920s when the typical home was about 950 square feet. During the 1920s and 1930s, cities began implementing stricter zoning codes that separated residential, business, and industrial areas. Zoning laws also designated large portions of land for single-family homes, often with regulations that required minimum home sizes, setbacks (the distance between homes and roads), and spacing between homes. These requirements led to large front, side, and back yards and neighborhoods with long, wide streets and narrow sidewalks.

Now, flash forward to 2024. The average home size is over 2,000 square feet, often on large, disconnected lots. Bigger homes on larger lots increase property costs, but the city infrastructure required to connect these homes—roads, plumbing, water, and gas lines—drives up costs even more. With wider, longer streets between homes, maintenance costs also rise, putting further pressure on city budgets and taxpayers.

In conclusion, I’m not suggesting we eliminate large single-family homes with spacious yards. However, we need to re-evaluate and ease some zoning restrictions to build more sustainable and affordable housing. By allowing more flexibility in how and where we build, we can create communities where future generations can achieve the American dream of homeownership.

Published by: Annabelle Hanke

Links to sources: https://www.familytree.com/blog/prices-in-the-1920s/#:~:text=The%20average%20household%20income%20in,rent%20was%20%2460%20a%20month.