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| February 10, 2012 |
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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: 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. 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. By comparison, the state with the next highest median value was Massachusetts at "only" $185,700. 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). 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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