Costs.

Housing costs in the United States increased rapidly in the 1970s. The median-priced single-family home in 1970 cost $23,000 at an average interest rate of 8.5 percent, which represented 17 percent of the home owner's income. By 1979 the same house cost $55,700 at 10.9 percent interest, or 25 percent of the owner's income. This trend continued in the next decade, contributing to inflation, urban decay, and the problem of homelessness.

Size.

The affluent society of the 1960s, measured by a gross national product (GNP) increase of 4 percent annually, created new consumer demands for larger housing units. The average family home in the 1950s had 800 square feet, but this doubled by 1970, when 1.5 million new housing starts occurred. Related to this suburbanization of the United States was federal funding of highway construction, which grew from $429 million in 1950 to $4.6 billion in 1970.

Suburbs.

Modern roads meant easy access to the cities for suburbanites, so adults...