You realize that somebody who bought in 1940 or earlier is over 100 years old now, right?  (assuming becoming a homeowner at age 25).  Not a significant demographic.<p>Beyond that, those numbers are fudged and do not reflect the changing value of the dollar.  $3,537 in 1940 is <i>$59,711</i> in 2015 dollars[0] (or $43,382 in 2000 dollars[0]), so your &quot;two orders of magnitude&quot; claim falls to a mere factor of less than 5 times, or &lt; 5% of the &quot;two orders of magnitude&quot; claim.<p>And again, that isn&#x27;t even a level comparison given that housing construction costs are far higher (well beyond the rate of inflation) due to more features, stricter building codes, modern appliances, permits, ...<p>[0] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;data.bls.gov&#x2F;cgi-bin&#x2F;cpicalc.pl?cost1=3527&amp;year1=1940&amp;year2=2000" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;data.bls.gov&#x2F;cgi-bin&#x2F;cpicalc.pl?cost1=3527&amp;year1=1940...</a>