Is it harder to buy a home than in 1970?

First year. Income starts in 1967.

Second year. Income ends in 2025. 2026 means January to August 2026.

Down payment. A share of the price.

Price against income. The home price is the Census median for new homes sold, which is a different measure from the price of all homes sold; a new home today is larger and better equipped than one in 1970. Household income includes single-person households and is before tax. Median household income in these files runs from 1967 to 2025. Where a figure has no number for a year it says No data. 2026 means January to August 2026.

Price, payment and down payment. Years of income use the median household income of each year; the payment uses the loan you chose. Each verdict compares the second year with the first: more than 5% above is harder, more than 5% below is easier, otherwise about the same.

The monthly payment. The payment is on the median new home price less the down payment, for a 30-year loan with 20% down, at that year’s 30-year fixed mortgage rate: the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey yearly average, which starts in April 1971. For 1963 to 1970 no rate was published, so the 1971 rate is used; rates in the late 1960s may have been lower or higher, so the 1970 payment is uncertain. 2026 has no yearly average yet, so it has no payment. The payment leaves out property tax, insurance and mortgage insurance. After-tax income is a federal estimate for a married couple filing jointly: income tax with the standard deduction, Social Security and Medicare, no state tax and no credits.

The down payment. Years of saving divide the down payment by the share of after-tax household income you choose to save each year. Nothing is added for interest on the savings.

Rent, income and price over the same years. The rent index is a price index for rent, not a rent in dollars. It follows mostly apartments and long-time tenants.