Here’s How the Housing Market Has Changed Over the Past 10 Years

It's nearly impossible to scroll through social media these days without running into a flood of throwback photos from a decade ago, courtesy of the viral "2026 is the new 2016" trend—but nostalgia-tinged comparisons are nothing new in real estate. 

Today’s aspiring homeowners often look wistfully back at 2016, recalling a supposedly golden era when houses were more affordable, or insisting they will wait until the "market goes back to normal." 

Nadia Evangelou, senior economist and director of real estate research for the National Association of REALTORS®, writes in a new report that these sentiments are especially common among millennials who bore the brunt of the Great Recession, which has forced many to delay buying their first home.

"Many millennials reached homebuying age just as the market shifted away—especially during the pandemic—making affordability and down payments harder to reach, while older generations had already entered the market and built equity," Evangelou tells Realtor.com®.

But nostalgia has a way of playing tricks on the memory, and the past typically isn't as rosy as it appears in hindsight.

So let's take a closer look at what the U.S. housing market was really like in 2016.

Inventory was higher and homes were cheaper in 2016

Here's the bad news: In 2016, the typical home cost just $233,800, which is nearly 80% lower than in 2025, when the median price registered at $414,400, according to NAR data. 

At the same time, there are roughly 470,000 fewer for-sale homes today than there were in 2016, when the national inventory reached 1.65 million properties. 

Looking at home sales, there were 5.54 million closings in 2016, compared to just 4.06 million last year, which represents a 1.39 million drop. 

The steep decline in sales should come as little surprise considering the surging borrowing costs, with mortgages rates climbing from 3.7% in 2016 to 6.6% in 2025, significantly eroding homebuying affordability for households. 

"Although the homeownership rate is higher today than in 2016, boosted by pandemic-era demand and historically low financing costs, entering the market remains a challenge for many households," says Realtor.com Senior Economic Research Analyst Hannah Jones.

Against this backdrop of intensifying financial headwinds, the median age of the typical first-time homebuyer in the U.S. reached a record high of 40 last year, up from 32 in 2016.

"It comes down to affordability. Higher home prices, higher mortgage rates, and limited entry-level supply mean it takes longer to afford a first home," says Evangelou. "These buyers aren't opting out, but they are being pushed to buy later."

Home equity and new construction

But 2016 was not universally better for homebuyers than today—and two metrics, in particular, stand out.

In 2025, there were about 20% more single-family home starts than 10 years earlier, reflecting a growth in new construction and offering buyers more fresh options. 

But perhaps most significantly of all, the wealth generated by homeownership is now more than 14 times higher than it was before.

The typical homeowner has seen their property gain more than $214,000 in equity over the last 10 years.

Compare that to a homeowner in 2016 who had gained less than $15,000 over the preceding decade. 

"For many millennials who bought in the late 2010s or early 2020s, that equity built faster than expected," write Evangelou. "And larger equity provides homeowners with more options, such as a financial buffer that didn’t exist at the same scale in 2016."

The big takeaway, according to the economist, is that while buying a home in 2016 was easier thanks to lower mortgage rates, more affordable prices, and higher inventory, once you were moved in, your options as a homeowner were more limited than they are today. 

"Most homeowners didn’t have a large financial cushion tied to their home, even after years of owning, because the market was still recovering from the housing downturn," notes Evangelou. "That meant fewer choices, such as less equity to tap for renovations or life changes, and less flexibility to move up or laterally."

Overall, Jones says the experience of homeownership in the present-day U.S. is materially different from that of a decade ago.

"Existing homeowners have accumulated substantial equity, which can enhance their buying power and mobility, while first-time buyers without the advantage of existing home equity face significantly higher barriers to entry than first-time buyers did in 2016," explains the analyst.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2026, the Realtor.com Housing Forecast predicts that the market will stabilize, easing affordability pressures on buyers as inventory continues to improve.