NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Whenever someone complains about today’s mortgage rates, somebody inevitably says:
“You think 7.5% is bad? I paid 14% in the 1980s!”
They’re right about the interest rate. But they’re missing the bigger problem.
GEN Z IS WORKING HARD, BUT THE ECONOMY IS PUTTING THE AMERICAN DREAM OUT OF REACH FOR MANY
Today’s homebuyers aren’t just fighting a 7% mortgage. They’re fighting high rates on a home price that has grown much faster than the amount sitting in their checking account.
Home buying has gotten more difficult and more expensive. (Kurt Knutsson)
Look at the numbers.
A PROBLEM HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT IS KEEPING AMERICANS FROM BUYING HOMES
In 1984, the median new home sold for about $79,900, while median household income was roughly $22,400. That’s a home-price-to-income ratio of about 3.6 times income. The average 30-year mortgage rate that year was a painful 13.9%.
Now fast-forward.
AMERICA’S HOUSING MARKET COULD RUN OUT OF SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOMES
By 1990, the ratio had climbed to about 4.1 times income, with the median new home costing $122,900. In 2000, it remained around 4 times income, even with mortgage rates still above 8%.
Then housing prices really started separating from paychecks.
GEN Z DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER SPARS WITH BABY BOOMERS OVER WHETHER AMERICAN DREAM IS DEAD
By 2010, the median new home cost roughly 4.5 times median household income. By 2020, it was approaching 5 times income or $330,900 for the house versus roughly $68,000 in household income.
When someone says, “We had 14% mortgages in the 1980s, and we still bought houses,” they’re leaving out half the story.
WE MUST HELP MORE PEOPLE BUY A HOME. IT’S KEY TO THE AMERICAN DREAM
Homes were much cheaper relative to what families earned.
In 1984, the median new home sold for about $79,900, while median household income was roughly $22,400. That’s a home-price-to-income ratio of about 3.6 times income. The average 30-year mortgage rate that year was a painful 13.9%.
And here’s where it gets ugly
The median existing home price was $429,100 in August 2026. The latest median household income figure is $87,460 for 2025. That’s about 4.9 times household income. Meanwhile, the average 30-year mortgage rate hit 7.40% on Oct. 8.
So yes, your parents may have had a 14% mortgage. But they didn’t have a $429,000 house attached to it.
$104,200 SALARY IN ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA CONSIDERED ‘LOW-INCOME’ BY STATE OFFICIALS
Then there’s the down payment
This may be the part nobody talks about enough. A 20% down payment on that $79,900 home in 1984 was about $16,000.
Today, 20% down on a $429,100 home is nearly $86,000.
That’s almost an entire year’s median household income before closing costs, moving expenses, furniture or the first trip to Home Depot.
In 1984, the 20% down payment represented about 71% of median household income. Today, it’s roughly 98%. That’s a gigantic pile of cash for a first-time buyer to accumulate while simultaneously paying rent, student loans, car payments, insurance and everyday living expenses.
And then you still have the mortgage
Put 20% down on today’s $429,100 home and you’re borrowing about $343,000.
At 7.28%, the principal-and-interest payment alone is roughly $2,350 per month. Then add property taxes, homeowners’ insurance, HOA fees and maintenance.
That’s why simply telling young people to “stop buying $7 coffees” completely misses the point. Coffee isn’t the problem.
The math is.
When someone says, “We had 14% mortgages in the 1980s, and we still bought houses,” they’re leaving out half the story.
Today’s buyers are getting squeezed from three directions at once: home prices relative to income, the cash required to get in the door and the cost of borrowing once they get there.
Yes, mortgage rates were worse in the 1980s. But affordability isn’t about one number.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
It’s about the price of the house, the income buying it, the cash needed upfront and the interest charged on everything you couldn’t afford to pay in cash.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
And right now, all four are making the American dream of homeownership a very expensive dream. Just ask my kids.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM TED JENKIN