It needs to account for the difference is sizes. Average square footage in 1950 was just under 1000 sqft; in 2024, it's more like 2300.
In Texas, for example, the inflation adjusted cost per square foot was $79 in 1950, and about $130 in 2024. Still a steep rise, but a 60% jump instead of the 285% without considering square footage.
I think this is largely because of zoning regulations forbidding multifamily homes. If you have to build only a few single family homes on land per zoning regulations, you maximize your profits by building really big homes. But it's hard to separate out how much of it is zoning versus genuine consumer preference for larger homes at larger costs (+ easy access to cheap mortgages for many years) because of the ubiquity of these zoning regulations.
It doesn't matter if you aren't shopping by size. I would like a house (or a generic dwelling unit, but let's call it a house). I don't care the ones today are twice as big as the ones in 1950 - both have the same value to me.
In Texas, for example, the inflation adjusted cost per square foot was $79 in 1950, and about $130 in 2024. Still a steep rise, but a 60% jump instead of the 285% without considering square footage.