A new Cessna 172 is just north of a quarter million dollars, it seems.
Experimental/amateur-built aircraft are the fastest growing segment of aviation, precisely because it represents a fairly affordable avenue for getting into flying. The prices of certified aircraft have skyrocketed way past what any normal, even reasonably affluent, person can justify.
Ah sorry. Safety-wise EAB has a slightly worse accident record than certified small airplanes, but not much. The majority of the accidents are due to pilot error, so it's not clear the type of aircraft makes a difference there.
Performance-wise, you can get better performing airplanes, with better instrumentation, for far less money as experimentals. This is because they do not have to pass any FAA certifications, so there's much more innovation taking place in the EAB market.
Of course, it's also dependent on the builder and designer doing a good job, so especially second-hand markets can be iffy since all the due diligence for figuring out what you're buying is on you.
