U.S. Housing Market in 1993

In 1993, the U.S. housing market recorded existing-home sales averaged 3.80 million, new-construction sales of 666K, a median existing-home price of $103,100, and a 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 7.31%.

Year over year, existing-home sales rose 8.0% from 1992, new-home sales rose 9.2%, the median existing-home price rose 3.4% to $103,100, the 30-year fixed mortgage fell 1.08 points to 7.31%. Compared with five years earlier (1988), existing-home sales were 8% above 1988, median prices were 15% higher in nominal terms, the prevailing mortgage rate sat 3.03 points below the 1988 reading.

By the numbers — 1993: new-home sales 666K, existing-home sales 3.80M, median existing price $103,100, 30-year mortgage rate 7.31%.

Macroeconomic Context

1993 was the first year of the Clinton administration. Real GDP grew 2.8%, CPI inflation moderated further to 3.0%, and unemployment fell to 6.5% by December. The federal funds rate averaged 3.0% — a multi-decade low. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993, signed in August, raised the top marginal income tax rate to 39.6% and made other revenue increases that ultimately contributed to the 1998 federal-budget surplus — the first surplus since 1969. NAFTA was passed by Congress in November. The Brady-bond Latin American debt restructuring concluded successfully. The early-1990s 'jobless recovery' narrative would dominate political coverage but the labor market was in fact strengthening.

The Mortgage & Credit Market

30-year fixed mortgage rates fell to 7.31%, the lowest reading since 1973. Originations reached a then-record level. The 1992-93 refi wave is sometimes called the 'great refi' of the 1990s; it pulled forward roughly 35% of all eligible mortgage balances into new lower-rate loans within 18 months, reshaping U.S. household balance sheets. The modern conforming-loan market — Fannie/Freddie purchased about 70% of all originations — was fully operating.

Cycle Position

Existing-home sales reached 3.80M, the highest since 1979. New-home sales rose to 666,000. The median existing home cost $103,100 — the first year above $100K. Combined sales of 4.47M matched 1977's high. The cycle was expanding cleanly: rates falling, employment rising, household formation healthy.

The Year in Long View

Existing-home sales of 3.80M in 1993 represented 54% of the all-time annual peak (7.08M in 2005) and ran +91% above the modern-era trough of 1.99M (1982). New-home sales of 666K were 52% of the 2005 record (1,283K) and 218% of the absolute series low (306K in 2011). Combined U.S. home sales of 4.47M ran 53% of the 2005 all-time peak (8.36M total). Within the 1990s, the 1993 reading sat 6% below the decade average of 4.03M existing-home transactions per year. The median existing-home price of $103,100 translates to roughly $224,180 in 2024 dollars — about 55% of 2024's $408,000 record in real terms. Buyers in 1993 were not paying anything close to today's inflation-adjusted prices. Against the median U.S. household income of $34,076, the price-to-income ratio worked out to 3.0× — compared with 2024's all-time-high reading of 5.4×, which marks the most stretched affordability in the modern record. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate of 7.31% sat 0.39 points below the full-history (1971–2024) PMMS average of 7.7% and 0.47 points above the 2024 reading of 6.84%. At that rate, the principal-and-interest payment on a $200,000 30-year mortgage would have been roughly $1,373/month. Year-over-year, existing-home sales rose 8.0% from 1992, new-home sales rose 9.2%, the median existing-home price rose 3.4%. Looking forward to 1994: existing sales would rise 4.5% to 3.97M, the 30-year fixed would rise 1.07 points to 8.38%.

Sources & Methodology

The 1993 figures on this page come from three federal data sources: the U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Construction (annual new single-family home sales), the National Association of Realtors Existing Home Sales report (annual existing-home transactions and median sale prices), and the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (annual average 30-year fixed mortgage rate). Recession bands are drawn from the National Bureau of Economic Research Business Cycle Dating Committee. Inflation adjustments use the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI-U series, and price-to-income ratios reference the Census Bureau's annual median U.S. household income table.