History of Housing

The 1930s create an intriguing picture of the housing market. Largely affected by the Great Depression, which began in 1929, home prices fell significantly in the 1930s. Prior to this decade, the mortgage industry was unregulated and looked wildly different from today’s industry.

Notable policies like the 1932 Emergency Relief and Construction Act and the 1934 National Housing Act attempted to get more low-income families into homes and stimulate the economy. The Federal Housing Administration was also created around this time.

Home Owners Loan Corp. (HOLC) was created to purchase default home loans from lenders, refinance and attempt to save families from foreclosure. There was a cap of 5% on all these refinanced loans and thanks to this program, only 20% of homeowners in default lost their homes. Given the dire situation, it could have been much worse.

AVERAGE HOME PRICE ❱ $3,900, THAT'S $91,238 WHEN ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION

MORTGAGE RATE ❱ 5%

AVERAGE SQUARE FOOTAGE ❱ 1,129

AVERAGE INCOME OF HOMEOWNER ❱ $1,731