Flying SquidSo much for "progress"
__matthew__The first stat is a little misleading IMO. While the median car cost has increased ~2x (inflation adjusted), an entry level car price has only gone up ~1.2x (1971 AMC Gremlin vs 2023 Kia Rio LX; $1.8k/$14.8k vs $17.8k) and that’s more important for measuring relative quality of life.
Of course add on to that the fact that there’s easy access to second hand car markets and the number of features included with that base model vs that 1971 AMC Gremlin and it doesn’t seem like things are much worse.
Basically, average car prices increasing could just indicate that people are willing to spend more on cars for whatever reason that may be (better features, more car-centric culture, etc.). For this reason I’d like to see similar stats but about entry level options within each category. Probably less sensationalistic but still interesting.
That being said, I bet stats for the housing market and others would still show a notable increase even at the entry level, but I’d still like to verify this before blindly jumping on the sensationalist bandwagon.
I also want to know what those $25k houses are selling for now. Comparing to houses built in 2024 is stupid.
In 1988 my family home in the UK was 33k. We sold in 2011 for 185k. My house in 2014 cost 118k and is now worth 195k.
So, it’s not that stupid.
So the 1988 home sold for about 6 times its purchase price and and the 2014 house is 1.65 times its purchase price. Both of those are way less than the 25x that the image claims.
But the graphic is stating from 1971 so 18 years before the 1988 house. In 1971 the average house price in the uk was about 5k.
You are the one conflating here.
Then provide the 1971 to 2024 numbers. A house built after 1977 can appreciate much less than a house built in 1971.
Sorry, isn’t that what the op did? You disputed it and then i gave you an example of how much higher the numbers are than even 36 years ago.
I then gave you the house price average in the uk in 1971, in line with this graphic’s dates. Didn’t think i needed to do all the research for you since you are the one disputing the numbers. But it turns out the average house price in the uk is now about 308k so thats an even larger multiple than in the US. Your dispute was that the 25x is too high. However i can find info showing that in the UK its even higher.
Look, the point is that you are disputing the statement and provide nothing to back yourself up, and expect others to show you more evidence based on nothing but your own personal opinion.