Yeah, I paid 13% too in 1980, but things were different back then:
1) A real nice little starter house back then was only $85K - I think my mortgage was only $60K!
2) The tuition for a decent non-Ivy league MBA program (Temple U) was dirt cheap back then, so with a side job I had zero student debt and enough saved for the down payment.
3) Back then, a solid entry level finance position at a fortune 200 paid $25k (which sounds low now, but I was actually able to build up some savings with that).
4) The high interest rates also meant you could earn that much on a CD if you had some savings.
5) 7 years later the house sold for 3 times what I paid for it.
Bottom line: interest rates were super high - but all in all - that was a great time to buy a house IMHO.
“7 years later the house sold for 3 times what I paid for it.”
Wow! That is incredible. Yes they were good times indeed.