@the.maven: High rates must have been a gut punch, no doubt. 

Having said that, I would gladly trade the conditions now for the conditions then. Here's why: Back in the day, there were high rates, but houses were typically valued at 3-5x gross household income and their increases year over year (minus some short-lived exceptions) weren't much above inflation (3-6%).

For the past decade, rates have been incredibly low, but equivalent real estate has been priced at 8-20X income and annual increases have been 10-20% depending on the year.

Back in the day, sacrifice and saving brought you a larger % down payment each year. Today, each year of sacrificing and saving puts the purchase further out of reach. And this phenomenon has existed in some parts for a very long time now.

Also, everyone who bought in the high rate environment of the past typically made payments into a decades-long trend of declining rates. There can be no equivalent for today's buyers. 

It's nuts.