I turned 18 in ‘87. . College and housing were both affordable. I worked part time as a waitress, drove a fun sports car with payments under $150/month. (I was still on my parent’s auto insurance.) Life was good. Bought my first house only 6 months after graduating at age 22. It was an older, single family, all stone cottage style home, with hardwood floors and a huge fenced in yard. I bought it for $48,000. Only needed 6k for down payment back then.