Every generation seems to have the same argument: buying a home was harder when I did it.
People who bought in the early 1980s remember mortgage rates in the mid-teens. Today’s buyers look at home prices above $400,000 and wonder how anyone expects them to save a down payment while paying for everything else.
So instead of arguing from memory, let’s put some numbers next to the question: Who had it harder — a homebuyer in 1981 or a homebuyer in 2026?
The Numbers at a Glance
| 1981 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Median existing-home price | $66,400 | $429,100 |
| 30-year mortgage rate | 16.64% | 6.95% |
| Median household income | $19,074 | $87,460* |
| Home price ÷ income | About 3.5× | About 4.9× |
| Approx. P&I with 20% down | $742/month | $2,272/month |
*2025 median household income is used because it is the latest full-year Census Bureau figure available in 2026. Mortgage payments are illustrations using a 30-year fixed loan and 20% down and exclude taxes, insurance, HOA fees and other costs.
1981: The Interest Rate Was the Monster
The median existing home sold for about $66,400 in 1981. That sounds inexpensive from a 2026 perspective, but financing it was another matter. Freddie Mac’s historical mortgage data puts the average 30-year fixed rate for 1981 at roughly 16.6%, and rates reached even higher levels during the year.
With 20% down, a buyer financing about $53,120 at 16.64% would have a principal-and-interest payment of roughly $742 per month. Against a national median household income of about $19,074, that was a serious monthly burden before property taxes, homeowners insurance and other expenses.
That is why simply saying, “Homes only cost $66,000 back then,” misses a major part of the story. The cost of borrowing money was punishing.
2026: The Price Is the Monster
Fast-forward to 2026. The National Association of REALTORS® reported a national median existing-home price of $429,100 for August. Freddie Mac reported the average 30-year fixed mortgage at 6.95% for the week of September 17.
That interest rate is nowhere near 1981’s level, but the price of the house has changed dramatically. Using the same 20%-down illustration, the buyer would finance about $343,280 and pay approximately $2,272 per month in principal and interest.
The latest Census Bureau figure puts 2025 median household income at $87,460. That means the median existing-home price is roughly 4.9 times median household income, compared with about 3.5 times using the 1981 figures.
That difference matters before the first mortgage payment is ever made. A 20% down payment on a $66,400 home is $13,280. On a $429,100 home, it is $85,820. Buyers do not necessarily need 20% down, but the comparison shows how much larger today’s entry price has become.
But What About Everything Else We Have to Buy?
This is where the comparison gets more interesting.
It is easy to assume households today must be spending less on groceries because housing takes more of the budget. The data does show that food consumes a smaller share of disposable personal income than it did in 1981 — but that does not prove housing costs caused the decline.
USDA data shows food expenditures represented about 13.0% of disposable personal income in 1981. In 2025, the share was about 9.7%. Food production, household income, shopping habits, dining patterns, technology and many other factors changed over those decades.
So the better conclusion is not that families stopped spending on food to afford their homes. It is that the household budget itself has changed. Housing, food, transportation, health care, child care, technology and other expenses compete differently for income today than they did four decades ago.
So Who Had It Harder?
There isn’t one honest answer unless we define what “harder” means.
If we are talking about the cost of borrowing money and the monthly mortgage burden created by interest rates, the 1981 buyer faced an extraordinary obstacle. A mortgage rate above 16% could make even a comparatively inexpensive home difficult to finance.
If we are talking about the price of getting into the market, today’s buyer faces a different problem. Home prices have grown much faster than household income in this comparison, which means a larger purchase price, a much larger potential down payment and a larger loan balance even with a substantially lower interest rate.
In other words, 1981 was largely an interest-rate affordability crisis. 2026 is much more of a home-price and entry-cost affordability problem.
What This Means for North Texas Buyers
National numbers do not tell you whether a particular home in Fort Worth, Weatherford, Azle or elsewhere in North Texas is affordable for you. The purchase price is only one part of the equation. Rate, down payment, taxes, insurance, seller concessions, builder incentives, loan program and how long you expect to own the home can all change the math.
That is also why waiting for one number — especially the mortgage rate — to become “perfect” can be misleading. A lower rate can help, but so can negotiating the price, using seller-paid closing costs, considering a rate buydown, or choosing a different financing structure.
The better question is not whether your parents or grandparents had it easier. It is: What combination of price, financing and monthly payment makes sense for your household today?
Sources and Methodology
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development historical housing data: 1981 existing-home price.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey and historical archive: mortgage rates.
- National Association of REALTORS® Existing-Home Sales: August 2026 median existing-home price.
- U.S. Census Bureau: 1981 median household income and 2025 median household income.
- USDA Economic Research Service Food Expenditure Series: food spending as a share of disposable personal income.
This comparison uses national figures from different statistical series and is intended as a broad affordability illustration, not a claim that every household or local market experienced the same conditions. The 2026 income comparison uses the latest full-year household-income figure available, which is 2025. Payment illustrations are principal and interest only.