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Most Explosive Appreciation Came During The 1970s

by Lew Sichelman

The median value of houses more than doubled in the last 50 years, but the most significant growth occurred more than two decades ago.

Between 1970 and 1980, according to the Census Bureau, the median value of single-family, owner-occupied houses leaped 43 percent, from $65,300 to $93,400. But that was followed by the ‘80s, which registered lowest rate of appreciation of any decade since 1950 – a mere 8.2 percent.

From 1950 to 2000, the median, after adjusting for inflation, rose from $44,600 to $119,600, the agency reports in its Census 2000 housing brief.

A decade-by-decade breakdown looks like this: 31 percent in the ‘50s, to $58,600; 11 percent in the ‘60s, to $65,300; 43 percent in the ‘70s, to $93,400; 8 percent in the ‘80s, to $101,100, and 18 percent in the ‘90s, to $119,600.

Census asks citizens about property values because it is an important measure of neighborhood quality, housing affordability and wealth.

The data provides "socioeconomic information not captured by household income and comparative information on the state of local housing markets," the agency explains. The government uses the findings to develop transportation programs and analyses of housing needs, among other things.

Here are some of the more interesting findings in the latest Census report:

As might be expected, the median in 2002 was lowest for owners under the age of 25 ($84,700), an age group which encompasses mostly first-time buyers who have yet to start building equity for their climb up the housing ladder.

But in somewhat of a shocker, owners in the 45-to-54 bracket have the highest median value a $131,000. After that age, the value of houses begins to decline as owners start moving back down the housing food chain.

Another surprise: Asians tend to own the most expensive houses. The median value of houses held by persons who identified themselves in the last Census as Asian was $199,300, more than 50 percent higher than the national median value.

On the other side of the equation, properties owned by Blacks or African Americans had the lowest median value at $81,000, about a third below the national median. Whites, on the other hand, were just above the national figure at $122,800.

One of the reasons Asians come out on top is that nearly half their homes are located in Hawaii and California, the two states with highest median home values – Hawaii at $272,700 and California at $211,500.

By comparison, the state with the next highest median value was Massachusetts at "only" $185,700.

If you need another indication of how expensive houses are in California, try this: The Golden State has 41 percent of the nation's million dollar houses but just 2.33 percent of the country's housing stock.

California has nearly 127,000 million dollar manses, followed by New York with 22,300, a relative handful in comparison.

All together, though, there are only 313,800 million dollar houses nationwide. And that's 0.6 percent of the total stock.

Other states with the highest concentration of $1 million-plus properties include Florida (18,000), Connecticut (13,900), Illinois (12,400) and New Jersey (11,600).

Of the country's 55.2 million owner-occupied single-family houses, 70 percent are mortgaged. And since non-mortgaged properties tend to be older, the median value of those owned by persons still making mortgage payments was much higher than those that are debt-free – $128,800 vs. $96,900.

That newer houses tend to be more costly is born out by the finding that the 7.7 million houses built between 1995 and 2000 were far more expensive than the 24 million units built prior to 1960 – $146,300 vs. $95,600.

But it's not always true that the newer the home, the higher the median value. The median for the 12.3 million houses built in the 1970s ($106,800) was actually lower than that for the 9.1 million units built in the ‘60s ($103,500).

Published: July 30, 2003

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

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When Lew Sichelman first started writing about housing in 1969, he was the youngest real estate writer in the country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of the oldest -- and most decorated.

He has been rated the top housing columnist in the country by the National Association of Realtors as well as by his peers in the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Indeed, NAREE has recognized his work on numerous occasions. One year - due to his advancing age, he can't recall which one - he earned top honors in the annual NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of the four major writing categories. It was the first time one writer has won so many NAREE awards in a single year.

Known for his ability to make even the most difficult topics understandable, Sichelman also has been honored by the National Association of Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers Association.

He began providing in-depth coverage of and consumer-oriented information about housing and housing finance at the Washington Daily News, where he was real estate editor. He held that same position for nine more years at the Washington Star, which purchased the News in 1972.

The Star, a so-called "writer's newspaper" which also had the misfortune of being an evening paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, and Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating his column in 1978, decided to become a full-time columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing Scene," is distributed by United Media to newspapers throughout the country.

He also is on the staff of National Mortgage News, an independent newspaper which is considered the bible of the mortgage business. And he writes for numerous other publications, including MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers questions once a week, Sports Illustrated (don't ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and others.

Sichelman is married, the father of five and grandfather of eleven.

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