Mortgage Blog
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Mortgage Rates: A Little Perspective
September 30, 2026 | Posted by: Daryl Johnson
What mortgage rate do you remember having?
I asked that question on Facebook recently and the answers poured in. People remembered 18%, 19%, even 21% from the early 80s. And every time I see those numbers, I think the same thing: the rate is only half the story.
Then: brutal rates, manageable prices
In 1981, mortgage rates climbed past 20%. At the same time, the average Canadian home cost about $75,000 and the median family earned about $20,000 (per Bank of Canada and Statistics Canada historical data).
Do the math on that: the average home cost about 3.8 years of family income. Yes, the rate hurt. But the mountain you were climbing was a hill compared to today.
Now: lower rates, a much bigger mountain
Today the national average home price is $668,219 (CREA, August 2026). The latest Statistics Canada income data (2024, released April 2026) puts median after-tax family income at about $109,000.
That works out to roughly 6.1 years of income for the average home. Prices are up about 9x since 1981. Incomes are up about 5.5x. That gap is the entire affordability story in one picture.
What this actually means for you
Nobody can control the market, and nobody can time-travel back to 1981 prices. What you can control is your plan: how much you can actually afford, which rate and term fit your life, and how to position yourself before you buy or renew.
Boomers are still the largest generation in the housing market. The buyers fighting to get in right now are mostly millennials, followed by Gen X, with some Gen Z starting to knock on the door. Every one of them is playing a tougher price-to-income game than the generation before.
So here is my question back to you: boomers, what did you pay for your first home? And buyers today, do you know what you can actually afford? Those are two very different conversations, and I have both every week.
Daryl Johnson, Mortgage Agent Level 2 | Mortgage Architects | September 2026
Sources: Bank of Canada and Statistics Canada historical data (1981 figures); CREA national average price, August 2026; Statistics Canada Canadian Income Survey 2024, released April 2026 (latest available income data). Income concepts differ across eras, so treat the comparison as illustrative, not exact.