[wny]

my first mortgage was 15%....I survived

[EEGator]

The past is not necessarily indicative of the future.
What was your salary to total home buy percentage?
What were the costs of fuel and food relative to now?

[Gay State Conservative]

Mine was 12.875%...I paid it off in 5 years.Haven't had one since.

However,I am affected by The Big Guy's handlers. The equity I have in my house represents a substantial portion of my net worth and these rates mean that my place is worth a lot less than it was when rates were 3%.

[woodbutcher1963]

Yes, we all survived(mine was 10.375%). The point is that my first mortgage was $100K on a $125K house in 1990.
Today that same house is $413K. I would have to put $83K down for 20% and then finance $330K. I would not be able to afford the payment. Even at 5.5% interest.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

And what was your home price to income ration then? It is much worse now in most places. So a 10% rate on a median home in most places is probably a greater percentage of median income than 15% was on your home back in the day.