re: I'm sick of people saying the middle class is worse off than 4 decades ago.

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How about ALL the shite we pay for now that they would have no fricking clue how to budget for back in the day? $12/mo Netflix, $25 Sling TV, $80 internet, $250/mo for 4 cell phones, $3/gal gas, etc., etc., etc.
my point

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I'm sick of people saying the middle class is worse off

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You are the dukke v of the poliboard.

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Got my dryer fixed rather pay the replacement costs, and there was nothing on the market remotely close to your 2013 prices

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discretionary income

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THE AVERAGE AMERICAN HOME TURNS 34 YEARS OLD
Rudy Niño (September 20, 1998)

If the average car driving on the road was 34 years old, many would need major repairs, most would need to be adapted to fit the current styles and consumer trends, and all would need additional options if they are to offer the latest breakthroughs in comfort and technology.
Homes are no different. The median year in which the nation's existing homes were built is 1964. Americans' tastes in homes have changed considerably over the last quarter of a century, and the biggest difference is in space. The average home size has risen from between 1400 and 1500 square feet then, to more than 2000 square feet now.

Since much of the remodeling industry is driven by the need for more space, it is no coincidence that remodeling reached an all time high of $115 billion at the end of 1996. Kitchens and baths are the biggest recipients of the trend toward increased space. Convenience is the key word for kitchens. Additional counter space, pantry space, and cabinet space are all big selling points. Items such as microwave ovens and garbage disposals which were once luxuries are now standard features.

Bathrooms have become a luxury gauge for judging the overall amenities of a home. At the beginning of this decade, 44 percent of new single family homes had at least 2 1/2 baths. Just four years earlier, that number was only 29 percent. Bathroom remodels can be everything from a simple tile job to adding a hot tub.

About three-quarters of all houses sold are existing as opposed to new. The problem that many buyers face is that they like the neighborhoods and the affordability of those houses built in the early sixties, but they also want the same features found in new homes such as additional storage space, more natural light, and modern appliances.

Few of the houses built 34 years ago had walk-in closets or an informal "family" room. Back then, most of the closets were nominally sized and it was more common for the "rec" room to be a converted garage.

With the age of the median American home being over three decades, it is not surprising that the increase in the remodeling industry during recent years is due to the maintenance and repair portion of the industry.

The aging of the American home, like other issues of the remodeling industry, varies according to region. The newer homes are in the south and west of the nation, and the older homes are in the Midwest and even more so in the Northeast. While the overall median construction date of the American home is 1964, the median in the West is 1968 and the South is 1969. The median for the Midwest is 1958, and the median for the Northeast is 1951.

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The Census Bureau recently released data on average and median home sizes for 2013 and those data are displayed in the top chart above. Here are some details:

1. In 2013, the average size of new houses built increased to an all-time high of 2,679 square feet (see blue line in top chart), and the median size new home set a new record of 2,491 square feet (see red line in chart). Over the last 40 years, the average home has increased in size by more than 1,000 square feet, from an average size of 1,660 square feet in 1973 (earliest year available from Census) to 2,679 square feet last year. Likewise, the median-size home has increased in size by almost 1,000 square feet, from 1,525 square feet in 1973 to 2,491 last year. In percentage terms, the average home size has increased by 61.4% since 1973, while the median home size increased by 63.3%.

2. Meanwhile, the average household size has been declining, from 3.01 persons per household on average in 1973 to a new record low of 2.54 persons per household last year, a reduction of almost one-half person per household over the last 40 years (see brown line in top chart).

With the average new house in the US getter larger in size at the same time that American households are getting smaller, the square footage of living space per person in a new home has increased from 506.6 to 980.7 square feet using the median size home, and from 551.5 to 1,054.7 square feet using the average size home. In percentage terms, that’s a 93.6% increase using the median home size and a 91.2% increase using the average home size. In either case, the average amount of living space per person in a new home has almost doubled in just the last forty years – that’s pretty amazing.

3. What about the cost of new homes over the last 40 years? On a per square foot basis using median home prices and median square footage, the inflation-adjusted price of new homes has been relatively stable since 1973 in a range between about $105 and $125 per square foot (see bottom chart above). And the price of just under $106 per square foot for new homes in 2013 was almost 16 below the peak of $125.50 per square foot for a new home in 2004, and also below the cost per square foot in every year during the 1970s and 1980s, and below every year of the 1990s except 1992 and 1993.

Bottom Line: We hear all the time about stagnating household incomes, the decline of the middle class, rising income inequality, and lots of other stories of gloom and doom for Americans. But when it comes to the new homes that Americans are buying and living in, we see a much brighter picture of life in the US. The new homes that today’s generations are buying are larger by 1,000 square feet compared to the average new homes our parents might have purchased in 1973, and are almost double in living size today adjusted for household size compared to 40 years ago.

And of course today’s new homes, compared to those built in the past, are much more energy-efficient; they come with better, bigger and more bathrooms, closets, and garages; they’re equipped with better and more home appliances; and they almost all include modern features like central air conditioning today that might have been expensive options in previous decades like the1970s. We’re paying a little more today for new homes only because the average size is increasing, but on an inflation-adjusted basis, we’re actually paying slightly less today than the cost per square foot in 1973. Overall, the increasing size, improving quality, and relative affordability of new homes today means that living standards continue to gradually, but consistently, improve year after year for most Americans.

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My point from yesterday still stands. What am I currently paying for that I could drop and live like a 1970's king?

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