Actually, for people with good credit, 30 year mortgages with 10% down payments could often be found. I bought my first townhouse/condo with just such a mortgage in 1972, at an interst rate of 7.5%. The developer who built the complex made a sweetheart deal with a local S&L that financed the development and then provided the bargain mortgages to the developer’s purchasers. It was a good deal for everybody. Once again, the free market did far better than the government could.