20 Photos Of Affordable Starter Homes Through The Decades

The starter home is a crucial milestone, and a thing of the past.

Published 2 months ago in Wow

The starter home was once a crucial milestone in a young adult's life. It was the first step of the American dream, a place of your own to lay your roots before setting your sights on loftier goals. It's also a thing of the past.

Home ownership is all but a myth for younger generations, as skyrocketing prices work in conjunction with stagnating wages and inflation to make even the smallest houses simply too expensive.

In 1970, the average home price in the United States was $23,400. That's about $192,000 in today's money. But today, the median home price is $419,200. Wages have hardly increased in comparison.

Check out these 20 photos of starter homes through the decades. They look nice, right? Yes they do, and I WANT ONE!

1
$1,573 Including Materials and Labor
Sears Modern Homes catalogue, 1911. Chicago.

2
$938
Sears Catalog, 1916.

3
$1,945
A two bedroom Sears house, 1920s.
4
$1,092
A 1934 House from the Sears & Roebuck Christmas Catalog.

5
Under $6,000
Full houses in the New York City surrounding area. 1937.
6
Under $4,000
Upper Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania. 1940. The average Pennsylvania home price in the ‘40s was about $3,000.
7
Around $7,000
Detroit, Michigan, 1950s. This is higher than the median American home price in the ‘50s of $3,000.

8
Under $7,500
A family on Long Island, 1950s. This could go for a half million today.
9
$11,990
For sale in 1960. The $87 monthly payment represented less than 20% of the average person’s monthly paycheck.
10
Under $12,000
A house in Prince George's County, MD. 1960.

11
Under $8,000
A three bedroom home, in the early 1960s. That’s well under $100,000 in today’s money. Florida.
12
$18,500
A Levitt House, Bowie, MD. 1964.
13
Around $50,000
A house in Fayette County, PA, 1970s.