Back then men typically didn't marry until they had enough saved up to be able to support a wife and family. A woman wasn't expected to work, she was expected to stay at home and raise the kids.

Also, you clearly have no clue what a mortgage is. Very few people buy a home without one and it typically takes 20-30 years to pay that off and truly own your home. That's assuming that shit didn't happen and you had to take out further loans on your home's equity. All someone pays for upfront is down payment, closing costs and other various things like buying furniture, getting the home inspected, etc.

So yes, they may have earned enough for the down payment and other expenses on a home, but they don't truly own a home yet. They just have escaped the pit of renting and now pay a mortgage and property taxes instead of rent.