Unless you've already accounted for inflation, that $72k house (assuming it was bought in 1985) actually cost about $172,000 in 2018 dollars.
That means the house's value increased by about 30% over the past 33 years. I don't know the specifics of the situation, but some of that 30% is probably from increased economic development in the area it's in. Some may also be from improvements made to the house.
Regardless, phrasing it as "house used to cost $72K and now costs three times that" is inaccurate and misleading.
The other part of the problem is that the income for the same job has only increased by $4,000/year in the past thirty years, while it should have increased by about $50,000 over the same time to keep pace with inflation.
That's a much more serious problem than increased housing costs.
Disclaimer: I am not an economist so my understanding of the situation might be horribly flawed. Please correct me if that's the case.
That means the house's value increased by about 30% over the past 33 years. I don't know the specifics of the situation, but some of that 30% is probably from increased economic development in the area it's in. Some may also be from improvements made to the house.
Regardless, phrasing it as "house used to cost $72K and now costs three times that" is inaccurate and misleading.
The other part of the problem is that the income for the same job has only increased by $4,000/year in the past thirty years, while it should have increased by about $50,000 over the same time to keep pace with inflation.
That's a much more serious problem than increased housing costs.
Disclaimer: I am not an economist so my understanding of the situation might be horribly flawed. Please correct me if that's the case.
https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl