Can You Guess How Much a Home Cost the Year You Were Born?

If it feels like homes are getting more and more expensive these days, it’s not your imagination.

Housing prices in many places have seen double-digit increases over the last year.

The median home sales price in the U.S. going into 2025 was $419,200. Of course, if you want to compare historical prices to today’s, you have to account for inflation.

That’s what we’ve done, using inflation-adjusted data on median home prices for the better part of a century. Federal Reserve data on American home sales prices goes back to 1963, and for perspective, we’ve also included home values for 1960, 1950 and 1940 using U.S. Census Bureau data.

Following is a look at national median and inflation-adjusted home sale prices from the 2000s back to 1940.

The 2000s

2009:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter: $208,400
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $313,544

2008:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter: $233,900
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $352,015

2007:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter: $257,400
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $403,963

2006:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter: $247,700
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $396,808

2005:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter: $232,500
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $387,302

2004:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter: $212,700
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $364,841

2003:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter: $186,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $325,189

2002:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter: $188,700
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $338,478

2001:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter: $169,800
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $308,055

2000:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter: $165,300
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $311,084

The 1990s

1999:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $157,400
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $304,330

1998:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $152,200
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $299,193

1997:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $145,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $289,518

1996:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $137,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $281,871

1995:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $130,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $274,765

1994:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $130,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $282,471

1993:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $125,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $278,463

1992:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $119,500
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $274,885

1991:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $120,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $283,213

1990:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $123,900
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $308,944

The 1980s

1989:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $118,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $309,539

1988:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $110,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $302,021

1987:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $97,900
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $279,676

1986:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $88,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $255,064

1985:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $82,800
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $249,319

1984:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $78,200
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $243,787

1983:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $73,300
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $238,091

1982:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $66,400
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $223,684

1981:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $66,800
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $243,913

1980:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $63,700
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $260,098

The 1970s

1979:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $60,600
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $281,857

1978:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $53,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $269,385

1977:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $46,300
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $251,422

1976:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $42,800
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $244,538

1975:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $38,100
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $232,308

1974:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $35,200
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $239,957

1973:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $30,200
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $225,203

1972:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $26,200
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $202,506

1971:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $24,300
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $193,955

1970:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $23,900
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $200,855

The 1960s

1969:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $25,700
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $229,330

1968:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $23,900
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $222,649

1967:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $22,300
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $215,321

1966:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $21,000
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $209,783

1965:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $20,200
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $205,672

1964:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $18,500
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $190,191

1963:

• National median sale price for a house sold in the first quarter of this year: $17,800
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $186,005

1960:

• National median home value in this year: $11,900
• Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $129,020

Again, Federal Reserve data only goes back to 1963, and Census Bureau data is only available for the first year of each decade.

1950

National median home value in this year: $7,354

Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $99,411

1940

National median home value in this year: $2,938

Adjusted for overall inflation (2025 dollars): $67,145