American homeowners enjoy many amenities that were rare or unavailable 50 years ago, and home prices reflect that convenience, the Census Bureau reported this week.
The agency said that the price of the typical home has topped $90,000 -- in the suburbs, $110,000.
Americans relaxing in hot baths or air conditioning are far more comfortable than when the government took its first detailed look at housing in 1940.
Back then, nearly 2 out of 5 homes lacked a shower or bathtub. Air conditioning was almost nonexistent and heat often meant feeding wood or dusty coal into a furnace. Many homes were still lit with kerosene lamps.
Now, just 1.5 percent of homes lack complete plumbing, only 5 percent report inadequate heating and 75.5 percent are air-conditioned, according to the bureau's American Housing Survey, conducted in 1995.
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The washing machine, a fixture in 77.5 percent of homes, has become even more common than the air conditioner, while 53.7 percent of dwellings have an automatic dishwasher.
Electricity, refrigerators and television are so common that the bureau no longer bothers to ask about them in its survey.
Married couples occupy a slim majority of housing units, 52.4 percent, the study found, and 93.7 percent of housing units have telephones.
Nationally, the median housing price was $92,507, up from $86,529 in 1993. Median means half of all homes cost more than that, half less.
By comparison, the median price was $2,938 in 1940, the equivalent of $27,400 in 1990 dollars. In those same 1990 dollars, the median value of homes rose to $39,900 in 1950, $52,500 in 1960, $57,300 in 1970, $74,900 in 1980 and $79,100 in 1990.
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The West is the nation's costliest housing region, with a median home value of $140,323 in 1995, up from $134,430 in 1993.
Share this articleShareThe Northeast recorded the second-highest cost at $118,909, up from $116,102. Homes in the Midwest had a median value of $80,149, up from $71,898, and in the South the cost of $76,017 was an increase from $70,376 two years earlier.
The median suburban home was valued at $112,836 in 1995, compared with $98,503 in urban areas and $80,318 in rural regions.
Homes four years old or less had a median value of $124,390, and the typical cost of mobile homes was $18,958.
The study, based on a national survey of 55,000 homes, is conducted every two years. The 1997 study is underway.
The nation had 109.5 million housing units in 1995, including 66.2 million detached houses, 6.2 million duplexes, 7.6 million mobile homes and the balance in apartments, cooperatives and condominiums.
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Warm-air furnaces were the most common type of heat. They were in 58 million homes, while 15 million had steam or hot water, 11 million had electric heat pumps and others had a variety of heaters, stoves and fireplaces.
Complete plumbing was present in 107 million homes, while 315,000 dwellings lacked a tub or shower and 202,000 had no flush toilet.
Public water services were available to 94 million homes and 14 million had wells, while 83 million had public sewer service and 26 million had septic tanks, cesspools or chemical toilets.
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