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What was the average cost to buy a house or car in the 80s and 90s?
- Thread starter Bubble99
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In SoCal in the early 90's I made around $50k per and bought my first house at $152k. Just under $1300 per month.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Then and Now: What Things Cost in the 1980s vs. Today
With the rising cost of inflation, it's no secret some items were cheaper in the 1980s. Here are 13 items whose price has changed since that decade.
Along with cheaper everything, pay was generally much less too... so it's relative.
We might get to a point in the not too distant future where entry level pay is $100K/yr but then a loaf of bread is $30... or maybe that warps such that entry level erodes to $10K/yr and a loaf of bread inflates to $50.
If you want to make it more interesting, try just 100 years ago... your grandparents prime. Hint: nice cars < $1K and a very nice home < $10K. But again, it's relative. Average U.S. income in 1920 was a whopping $3,269.40 per year... or $272/month (whewwwwwww! Don't spend it all in one place).
The big lesson in this observation is that you could buy a good home for about 2X average annual salary and a good car for about 1/3rd average annual salary. How do those ratios compare to now?
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My mother paid $36K for her home in the 1960s. It's worth a bit over a million right now. I paid $3,500 for my first car in the 1970s. The subway cost a dime and as did a bottle of soda. My first job at 11 years paid $0.10 an hour.
My parents bought their house in 1993 for £135k and now it’s valued at £830k. House prices have gone wild over the past three decades. My Dad had paid £11k for our house in Stratford Upon Avon in 1981 prior, and that then sold for £75k.
My own house is worth over a £100k more than I paid in 2016 and that valuation was done to get a mortgage increase to build our extension, so god knows what the market value it at now.
I think the average cost of a car in the 1980’s was around £4k, now it’s £15k from what I have read.
My own house is worth over a £100k more than I paid in 2016 and that valuation was done to get a mortgage increase to build our extension, so god knows what the market value it at now.
I think the average cost of a car in the 1980’s was around £4k, now it’s £15k from what I have read.
Which country, which state, which city? During the 80s and 90s there were also many variations in prices.
You can check this out for a real estate comparison between 2022 and 1980.
blueprinttitle.com
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This is not me guessing about the reason for the question, but it reminds me of a conversation I had with somebody talking about not being able to get their foot into the real estate market in 2020 January. They were in their 20s. The convo went something like this:
Them: Houses are too expensive.
Me: Really? Have you been studying the market?
Them: No.
Me: You really should be if you want to buy a place.
Them: My salary isn't high enough.
Me: You got a decent job. I'm sure it's enough to buy a 2 bedroom apartment for 250k in a decent location. I can show you right now where you can buy such places.
Them: The bank wouldn't give me a loan. And compared to my parents it's more difficult now.
Me: If you got no major debt and a bit of savings, you'll get a loan easy. Forget about the past. You can't do anything about that.
Them: I have no savings.
Me: Why?
Them: I like traveling and going out eating with friends.
Me: Good luck! (that's where I ended the convo as I realised this person just wanted to complain)
You can check this out for a real estate comparison between 2022 and 1980.
Real Estate Trends Then and Now: 80’s Edition – Blueprint Title
blueprinttitle.com
----
This is not me guessing about the reason for the question, but it reminds me of a conversation I had with somebody talking about not being able to get their foot into the real estate market in 2020 January. They were in their 20s. The convo went something like this:
Them: Houses are too expensive.
Me: Really? Have you been studying the market?
Them: No.
Me: You really should be if you want to buy a place.
Them: My salary isn't high enough.
Me: You got a decent job. I'm sure it's enough to buy a 2 bedroom apartment for 250k in a decent location. I can show you right now where you can buy such places.
Them: The bank wouldn't give me a loan. And compared to my parents it's more difficult now.
Me: If you got no major debt and a bit of savings, you'll get a loan easy. Forget about the past. You can't do anything about that.
Them: I have no savings.
Me: Why?
Them: I like traveling and going out eating with friends.
Me: Good luck! (that's where I ended the convo as I realised this person just wanted to complain)
So I recall having similar conversations as above with colleagues.
The issue is when I bought my first home, I could get a 95% or 100% mortgage. These days you need a 10% deposit at least.
But here in the UK house prices have risen much faster than wages. Saving a 10% deposit is tough for youngsters today. But then again I worked 7 days a week all the hours I could to save ours.
The issue is when I bought my first home, I could get a 95% or 100% mortgage. These days you need a 10% deposit at least.
But here in the UK house prices have risen much faster than wages. Saving a 10% deposit is tough for youngsters today. But then again I worked 7 days a week all the hours I could to save ours.
My mother bought her house in the early 80s, and it was in the range of 32,000. Now you're hard pressed to buy a car for that little. I remember being home sick as a kid in the late 70s watching the price is right showing new cars for 4,000 bucks - kind of crazy that you now need to add at least another 0 to that price
The sticker for a 2023 Camry is about $27K though I looked for inventory at my local dealer and they didn't list any prices. I suspect that they have no new cars at all in stock.
Too many vehicles have gone into the 40k range, pickup trucks are easily in the 100k range, which is ridiculous
How Much Does a New Car Cost?
You don't have to pay it though. Pickup trucks can be a pain if you live in an urban area. Most people in my neighborhood own cars or small SUVs.
I'm just saying that vehicles are less and less affordable and provided details as to why. There are certainly cheaper, smaller vehicles, but for families, a sedan is not always the best option. SUVs are. For me, a truck is something that more then a nice to have, though I refuse to spend 100k on one
I also want to add that Toyota's have almost no available vehicles, so while Toyotas have an affordable sedan, good luck in finding one. Then there's those dealershps that impose "market adjustments" where you're paying 2, 4, 6k over MSRP just because they can
That’s just crazy. Here in the UK you just order at RRP and wait for delivery. If you buy what’s on the lot, you’re more likely to get a discount.
Normally you can order a vehicle, but in Toyota's case, they're selling as fast as they're receiving them. I'm not in the market for a new vehicle, so I don't what hoops you may or may not need to jump through to get one, though it seems many unscrupulous dealers sneak in that market adjustment I mentioned. I don't think that happens for Toyota, but I have seen complaints regarding, Ford, Dodge/Ram, and Honda (I'm not sure about Chevy)
They send me a postcard and email every month asking if I'd like to trade my Camry in and buy a new one. I've told them many times that I'd be happy to buy one off the lot. I am not going to place an order and wait 4-12 months for something to come in. My solution to the car shortage is just to have 2 cars, something that many of my friends have done as well. So if something happens to one of them, I then have a backup.
We could move to Boston as well where we wouldn't need a car.
There's nothing on the lot except for cars waiting to be picked up by their owners.
I have service done at the dealer and they have this huge lot which was filled with new vehicles before the pandemic. Now it about 80% empty and any cars for sale are used cars. They struggle to even get used Toyotas as it appears people are hanging onto them.
I've heard that they have parking lots full of nearly completed cars that require parts that are in short supply. When they get parts in, they install them and then the vehicles go out. Of course this incentivizes the factory to put those scarce parts in higher-margin vehicles.
Unlike NY, where you can live in the city and have almost zero need for a car. Living in and near Boston, You really do need a car.
We grew up there without a car. We didn't have a car until I was 19.
There are lots of people that live in Boston without cars. And there will be far more in the near future given upcoming zoning changes.
We have a place in Singapore as well and it's another place where you don't need a car. Base taxation on cars is $50,000 so you can spend $100K on a Toyota Corolla.
I can't imagine w/o car. I agree many people don't own cars, especially given the high cost of ownership now a days.
My mother lived for 100 years in Boston without a car. She didn't know how to drive either. Her home is a block from a bus station and 3 blocks from an MBTA station. Taxis and senior transportation are easy to come by. The automobile has only been around for 100+ years. How did people survive before them?
The US is more designed for cars but it's by no means necessary to live if there is good public transportation, taxis and delivery services.
Which country, which state, which city? During the 80s and 90s there were also many variations in prices.
You can check this out for a real estate comparison between 2022 and 1980.
Real Estate Trends Then and Now: 80’s Edition – Blueprint Title
----
This is not me guessing about the reason for the question, but it reminds me of a conversation I had with somebody talking about not being able to get their foot into the real estate market in 2020 January. They were in their 20s. The convo went something like this:
Them: Houses are too expensive.
Me: Really? Have you been studying the market?
Them: No.
Me: You really should be if you want to buy a place.
Them: My salary isn't high enough.
Me: You got a decent job. I'm sure it's enough to buy a 2 bedroom apartment for 250k in a decent location. I can show you right now where you can buy such places.
Them: The bank wouldn't give me a loan. And compared to my parents it's more difficult now.
Me: If you got no major debt and a bit of savings, you'll get a loan easy. Forget about the past. You can't do anything about that.
Them: I have no savings.
Me: Why?
Them: I like traveling and going out eating with friends.
Me: Good luck! (that's where I ended the convo as I realised this person just wanted to complain)
You do realize you countered the assertion "it's too expensive to buy a home" with "you can get a 2BR apartment" and are castigating them for not "doing the research"?
Home ownership absolutely is out of the question for many Gen Y-and-younger people, especially in any decent proximity to a city. Your anecdote about "well they should eat out less" ignores the reality that housing prices have far outpaced wages. Pretty much everyone could do better to save their money, but that doesn't negate the fact that older people could do the same "avocado toast" lifestyle *and* get a house. Not to mention wouldn't have to take out loans to get a four-year degree.
Or to put it another way: in 2021, the median home was unaffordable for people in 69% of counties, according to a real estate firm. One year later, that had jumped to 97%. You cannot save your way out of home pricing that is jumping double digits every year (and so is rent, and so is the price of a car, etc.)
There was a lot more in grant aid as opposed to loans when I want to college and the state flagship was $800/year. The companies I worked for had tuition reimbursement up to $5,000/year (I think that they got some kind of Federal credit up to that amount), and a couple of companies paid for the vast majority of my undergrad and all of my grad school. It was far less costly to go to college in the 1970s. Prices exploded in the 1980s as one of my sisters had about $8,000 in loans when she graduated compared to $1,000 for me. I had sticker shock when we put our kids through college. Fortunately they didn't have to take out any loans.
Of course a 100 years ago, most people didn't own a car and there were plenty of services that allowed you get around or do what you needed within your neighborhood. In 2023, you are seriously behind the 8ball if you don't have car.
Want to go to Ikea? Can't do that. Want to an amusement park? Can't do that. Want to go to the beach, be prepared for taking multiple buses and trains (depending on what part of the city you're in). Just want to go the mall, your choices will be severely limited (Cambridge galleria). Need to go food shopping and a supermarket isn't close - be prepared to lug the groceries on the train.
There are plenty of people in the city that don't own a car, many of them I suspect would want a car if they could afford it. There's precious few who live in the city and by choice do not have a car.