House prices over time - the "humble" Warren Buffet's house example

 

According to multiple news outlet articles, the greatest investor Warren Buffet still lives in his "humble $31,500 house which he bought in 1958". 

I heard this several years ago but I never checked how humble that house is...

Recently I was watching a YouTube video related to an older true crime story from the fifties and a "$40,000 mansion" was mentioned, with images of a that particular mansion - a large house with pool and luxury features.  I immediately remembered the "humble" Warren Buffet's house and decided to finally check it out.  

Below is the Google maps image from his house.
It is actually a 6,570 sq. feet house!
Compare the size of the roof or the driveway to the neighbor's house below it and decide for yourself how "humble" that house it really is.
The house below has one car parked in the driveway and has space for one more. How many cars can park in the drive way of the "humble" house above it? 

 

But $31,000 really doesn't sound that much.

How does it look historically? 

Source: https://dqydj.com/historical-home-prices/

If I zoom in on 1958, the blue line (the nominal, non-adjusted for inflation) shows that the average house price in 1958 is below $20,000. Warren Buffet's house was clearly above average house price in 1958. 

Humble or not, the prices keep going up. 

If I calculate the price per sq. foot on Buffet's house, it is $4.8 per sq. foot.

If I enter the $4.8 into the inflation calculator for 1958, then the price per sq. foot in 2023 is calculated to be $50.13. In 2023 it is well above that: the costs to build a house are about $260-$300 per sq. foot. 

This means that the increase for house prices is significantly higher than the average inflation, whatever they measure... 

Source: https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

Just out of curiosity, I compared some other things, like:

Funeral costs: The increase from 1958 to 2023: funerals now cost about $3,000 above estimate provided by the above calculator. 

Price per gallon of gas: $0.30 in 1958 and calculated $3.13 in 2023 is about at the same level. 

A pound of steak: it was $0.99 in 1958 and is calculated to be $10.34 in 2023. It is actually $14.99 as I checked this week (see my own food inflation "basket").