As a mortgage broker, I meet all kinds of aspiring home-buyers, from young professionals to middle-aged parents and retirees. The one thing I often hear from young adults is that they’re finding it far more difficult to achieve the same level of success that their parents had at their age, including the pivotal goal of buying their first home. Considering the “Great Recession” of 2008, as well as the strong growth in real estate values in many Canadian cities like Vancouver and Toronto, it’s not hard to see why some of today’s young adults feel that home ownership is out of their reach.

But is it really harder to buy a home today than it was 30 years ago? That’s the tantalizing question that this fantastic infographic sets out to answer, looking at everything from housing prices and interest rates to household income and debt loads. While it talks about the US real estate market in particular, more or less the same trends have taken place in Canada over the same time frame. In any case, the conclusions it reaches are worth paying attention to – and are sure to be a surprise to many home-buyers, both young and old.

Created by: Aloha Tony