Have you ever wondered how much prices in real estate have changed over the last 100 years? Okay, maybe not, but I thought you might find this gem helpful or at least entertaining. This is a flyer for a home for sale in 1910. This flyer is courtesy of the Houston Fire Museum and shows the cost of building a 6 bedroom house in Houston over a century ago only ran you about $495. Yes, that is four hundred and ninety five dollars. Today’s median cost of a new home is around $250,000 depending on who you ask. That’s some appreciation… or is it? One thing is for sure, mortgage financing is completely differently today compared to how it was 100 years ago. What you and I regard as “normal” in Houston mortgage programs is completely different since the introduction of the New Deal by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Programs like Houston FHA mortgage, VA loans, Jumbo and self-employed Super Jumbo loans were non-existent prior to the New Deal. In fact, refinances or cash-outs mortgages or home equity loans were considered lowbrow activities. www.zeusmortgageblog.com
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Prior to the New Deal by FDR, only 4 out of 10 Americans/Houstonians/Texans owned a home. Today the most popular mortgage amortization or term is 30 years, but at the turn of the 20th century 5 and 10 year mortgages were the standard. What about down payments? Well, prior to the New Deal, families had to put down 80% and finance the remaining 20% over the next 5 to 10 years at a national average of 8%. Yes, I said it right… you had to put 80% down!!!!
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Okay, well that’s my best attempt at a history lesson for today.
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Enjoy the photo!
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Steven Kaufman
President of Zeus Mortgage
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