As someone who works in the residential housing industry, the difference between an $11,000 1960s house and a 2023 $300k house is staggering.

Granted, nobody is building houses that are 750-900 SF with one bathroom and no garage (in the US) these days, mainly because they can make more per lot by building bigger, and land is what is in short supply (in desirable, public service areas).

Houses are still impossibly priced for minimum wage because while housing prices have increased (median) 4-5% per year, wages have been lagging for two decades. And that really is a loss in buying power by about a factor of two.