In this episode, we look at why housing feels so expensive today and what really ended the Long Golden Age of homeownership. You’ll hear why new ideas like 50-year mortgages, portable mortgages, and teaser-rate home loans are getting so much attention, and whether they can actually fix today’s affordability crisis.

We also break down the key history behind home prices, from 1897 to 1997, when homes stayed in line with inflation and acted as a safe, steady way to build wealth. Then we move through the events that caused the housing bubble of 1998-2007, including the rapid expansion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, loose lending, and the Fed’s low-rate policies that pushed prices far above fundamentals.

This episode explains how these choices ended the long era of stable home values, created the Great Financial Crisis, and set the stage for today’s stretched prices. If you’re wondering whether buying a home now will deliver the same investment benefits as the past, this episode will help you understand the bigger picture.

In this episode:
• Why housing was stable for 100 years
• How inflation in the 1970s boosted homeowner returns
• How Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac changed the market
• How the Fed helped fuel the bubble
• Why affordability is so hard today
• What buyers should know about future home price growth

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