The chief economist at the National Association of Realtors is projecting that the median U.S. home price could reach one million dollars within roughly 25 years, right around the time older millennials will be approaching retirement age. Lawrence Yun, speaking at a recent housing conference in Washington, D.C., reportedly said the typical American home could hit a seven-figure median by around 2050. To put that number in perspective, the national median home price was just 90,000 dollars in 1990 and currently sits around 400,000 dollars, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Yun's forecast does not require dramatic overnight price spikes. It assumes homes continue to appreciate at long-term historical rates of roughly 3 to 4 percent per year, with that steady growth compounding over decades. Some years, like the pandemic-era boom, have run far above that average. Others have come in flat or negative. But the long-run trend has held remarkably steady. The forecast cuts both ways for millennials. Those who already own homes could benefit from decades of additional appreciation and equity growth. Those still trying to buy face a housing market that could become dramatically less affordable, on top of the elevated prices, tight inventory, high mortgage rates, and student debt burdens that have already delayed homeownership for millions in this generation.
