Members of Generation Z might struggle to remember a time when house prices were doing anything other than rising exponentially, but sure enough, there have been times in history when this has been the case.
The financial crisis of 2007 was one of them. Some people are wondering if the housing market is going through something similar now — but is it a fair comparison?
House prices in the US rose 17.1% between December 2020 and December 2021. It’s a terrifying figure for anyone currently saving for a house, and it’s also a rate that far surpassed inflation — the consumer price index increased by 7% over the same period.
To answer this question, let’s take a quick look at how the property market has performed historically. It’s true that housing prices tend to trend upward over time; we all need a roof over our heads, so there will always be a steady supply of people looking to purchase properties.
However, the growth rates of average prices during 2020 and 2021 were way above the average growth rate of 5.3% (taken from data between 1992 to December 2021).