Mortgage payments up 82% while incomes crawl 26%, and now 74% of Americans say the country is on the wrong path

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You can’t build stability when the basics are priced out of reach, and that anger doesn’t fade quietly. It turns into distrust, burnout, and eventually backlash.


In 1971, George Lucas released his first feature-length movie, the Baltimore Colts won Super Bowl V and the average 30-year mortgage rate was 7.54 percent. That rate is pretty close to what we’re seeing today.

Home prices back then, not so much. In 1971, the typical home sale price averaged $25,225, according to Census data, or about $195,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars in 2024.

Last year, however, the typical home sale price actually averaged $418,975.

Meanwhile, the median household income rose from around $10,300 annually in 1971 to roughly $80,600 in 2023.

Over the years, a shifting combination of mortgage rates, home prices, incomes and inflation has made it ever more challenging to become a homeowner, and mortgage payments now take up much more of the typical budget. Here’s a look at how they’ve increased over the years.

How have monthly mortgage payments changed over time?
The typical monthly mortgage payment has climbed dramatically in recent years, from about $1,100 in 2020 to double that — $2,207 — in 2024 (when not adjusted for inflation). When adjusted for inflation, the increase still works out to near an additional $800 a month.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/history-monthly-mortgage-payments-comparing-200000901.html

Gen Z is defiantly ‘giving up’ on ever owning a home and is spending more than saving, working less, and making risky investments, study shows

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gen-z-defiantly-giving-ever-165324956.html