Housing crisis in America since WWII

What happens to a nation that reintroduces millions of people into an economy that was completely geared to war-time production? A lack of resources, with one of them being housing.

"GI Bill, which offered unprecedented mortgage opportunities. Sixteen million veterans could buy a home often with no money down, no interest in the first year, and fixed rates so low that monthly mortgage payments could be lower than a rental."

What happened was a building boom.

From 1940-1945, about 2 million homes were built.

From 1945-1950, 7 million homes were built

By 1955, another 8 million homes were built.

How does this affect us today? Well, put simply, there are no homes to buy.

Our grandparents, but especially our parents, are staying in their houses longer and enjoying unprecedented value appreciation in their homes. A home was an affordable purchase in those post-war years. Now, however, the average starter home has ballooned to prices not attainable bymost Americans. Wage growth hasn't risen at nearly the rate at which real estate appreciated.

What you have is a housing shortage, started all the years ago by the GI Bill and essentially free houses. Those homes appreciated and we haven't built enough to sustain the next generation of home buyers.