Housing costs can be a big portion of a budget. How does your community compare to the national average?

Answer: $523,800

Housing costs can be a big portion of a budget. How does your community compare to the national average?

Questions:

• What is the trend in housing prices over the last 60 years? Why do you think that is?
• How might the steady rise in home prices affect affordability for first-time homebuyers?
• Is real estate a solid long-term investment? Why or why not?

Here are the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom

Behind the numbers (U.S. Census Bureau via FRED): 

• The average price of a new home reached $523,800 in 2025, a new record. That's up from $514,500 in 2024 and just above the previous high of $521,500 in 2022.
• The average sales price of a new home first passed $400,000 in 2021, jumping from $391,600 in 2020 to $458,300.
• In 1965, the average new home sold for $21,500. Today's average is more than 24 times higher.
• Prices don't always go up. During the Great Recession, the average price fell from $313,600 in 2007 to $267,900 in 2011.

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Teach your students more about home-buying through the NGPF Mini-Unit: Buying a House!

About the Author

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and has a master's degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn is looking forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice into curriculum design at NGPF. During her free time, Kathryn loves embarking on cooking projects, walking around her Seattle neighborhood with her dog, or lounging in a hammock with a book.