India, Sept. 27 -- The average 30-year US mortgage rate climbed to 7.49% on September 25, 2026. Mortgage News Daily reported the rise, putting the current rate far below the record-high mortgage rates Americans faced in the early 1980s.

At first glance, today's 7.5% mortgage looks much cheaper than the 18% rates of the 1980s. But comparing mortgage rates alone does not show the full housing affordability picture. The bigger issue is that US home prices are now far higher than they were in the early 1980s. Housing affordability depends on three major factors: mortgage rates, home prices and household income, according to The People's Economist.

In 1981, the Freddie Mac 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached a record 18.4%. At the same time,...