U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Put your income into the past
What Would a Home Have Cost in Years of Your Income?
Choose any completed year from 1972 to 2025. See its national median new-home price, your income translated into that year's dollars, and the price measured in years of gross income.
Historical comparison only. “Years of income” assumes every gross dollar went toward the price; it is not a purchase or payoff timeline.
Dated 2026 observations
A current marker, kept outside completed-year selection
Partial current context · not a completed annual record- June median new-home sale price
- $398,300June 2026 release published 2026-07-24
- July 30-year mortgage rate
- 6.66%weekly observations through 2026-07-30
- June CPI-U anchor
- 333.952through June 2026, released 2026-07-14
These observations use different reference dates and do not form a completed annual record.
A narrow, reproducible comparison
What “years of income” actually means
The calculator uses CPI-U to translate today's gross household income into the selected year's dollars, then divides the official annual median new-home sale price by that translated annual income.
It does not subtract taxes or living expenses, model savings, or say that you could have qualified for or purchased a home. The wealth scale randomly selects one person from a dated, reviewed Forbes top-20 snapshot and translates that current estimate with CPI-U.
Read the complete methodologyOfficial and direct sources
Follow the evidence behind every year
Freddie Mac
Primary Mortgage Market Survey historical weekly data
weekly observations through 2026-07-30Open direct sourceRead methodologyU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
CPI-U CUUR0000SA0 API observations, 2023-2026
through June 2026, released 2026-07-14Open direct sourceRead methodologySource snapshot retrieved Aug 4, 2026. The application calculates from the immutable active snapshot and does not fetch upstream sources during your visit.
Before you step into the past
Questions worth asking
Short answers to the boundaries behind the comparison.
What does Housing Time Machine compare?
It compares your CPI-adjusted gross household income with the national annual median sales price of new houses sold for the completed year you select, from 1972 through 2025.
Does ‘years of income’ mean years to buy the home?
No. It is the median new-home price divided by your inflation-adjusted gross annual income. It assumes every gross dollar went toward the price and does not subtract taxes, spending, or savings, so it is not a purchase or payoff timeline.
Why does the completed-year comparison begin in 1972?
The active historical record retains the established complete-year boundary from the source-backed housing dataset. Freddie Mac's mortgage series begins in April 1971, so 1971 remains partial context and the first complete annual record is 1972.
Why does the calculator use new-home prices?
The U.S. Census Bureau and HUD publish a long, consistent annual series for the median sales price of new houses sold. That national series is the product's stated baseline and does not represent all homes or a local market.
How is the wealthy person selected?
After you calculate, the browser randomly draws one person from a dated, directly reviewed Forbes top-20 snapshot. Their current net-worth estimate is converted into your selected year's dollars with CPI-U before it is divided by that year's median new-home price. You can request another draw.
Are my financial entries stored?
No. The application processes them in browser memory. It does not save them, add them to the URL, or include them in analytics. A result image is generated locally and leaves your browser only if you explicitly download or share it.