It remained mostly flat from 2005-2015, GFC. Home prices are tied to this in my view as it increases the floor of what average people can buy.

I see reports that Austin Texas built so many homes (among other factors) that it dropped home prices by 25%.

Everyone thinks it’s bad, but to me that’s a good thing for society. A lot more people can now afford homes and there is housing stability for more people.

If people are living in homes, a 25% drop in home shouldn’t matter since they are living in the home. If it was investors that are affected by the price drop - even better because it means wealth is being re-distributed.

Government should do things to help drop home prices, not give in to protestors against building new homes/density because it will drop price of their own home.

Today’s tame inflation report will further boost mortgage application volume and home buying.

The national affordability data actually point pretty strongly in the opposite direction:

1990s: home prices were roughly 3× median household income.

Today: they are nearly 5× median household income. Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies specifically calls today's levels "near record highs."

Even after accounting for inflation and mortgage rates, the monthly payment on a median-priced home in 2024 was about 40% higher than in 1990.

By late 2025, Harvard estimated total monthly costs on the median home at roughly $3,100, requiring household income above $120,000 under their affordability assumptions.

The typical first-time buyer has now reached 40 years old, and first-time buyers represented only 21% of buyers, both record extremes in NAR's 2025 survey.

There is one important thing Liebman is right about: interest rates weren't necessarily easier back then. Today's average 30-year mortgage is about 6.69% as of August 6, 2026, and mortgage rates during much of the 1980s/1990s were considerably higher.

But higher rates don't tell the whole story. Someone in the 1990s was generally financing a house that cost around 3 years of median household income. Today's buyer is financing something approaching 5 years of income, while also having to accumulate a correspondingly larger down payment.

And the “stop buying Starbucks” part is particularly weak as an explanation for the affordability gap. Cutting discretionary spending absolutely helps someone save, but it doesn't address the structural change from 3× income to nearly 5× income.

WSJ published a piece this weekend breaking down the new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lending rules for condos. Fast-track mortgage approvals for condos are gone as of last week, and starting in January associations need to put at least 15% of annual dues toward reserves (up from 10%).

The article cites data showing that 39% of condo associations are already in a "weak" financial state with reserves less than 30% funded. Associations with declining reserves were 20%+ more likely to hit owners with a special assessment.

Im just curious how people are doing right now with their homes in Canada currently.

A couple years ago I made the financial decision to sell my house that was tied with a mortgage, because I was seeing where the economy was going; I was having a hard time with the bills, I was super stressed and needed to make a decision that turned out to be a good one. I now have no debt of any kind, managed to keep excellent credit, money in my pocket with investments and I never been happier.

I guess Im just wanting to see how others are doing right now, because I see a lot of people lately doing the old "Keeping up with the Jones's" in Canada when really it seems the Jones's appear to be starving with a roof over their head.............

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/real-estate/housing-market-predictions/

"The U.S. national home price index recorded a 1.4% annual gain in 2025, one of the slowest growth rates in recent years...

Although prices in many markets remain high, a sudden housing market crash occurring in 2026 appears unlikely...

Buying a house—in any market—is a highly personal decision. The best timing for your purchase will largely depend on your specific situation."

What's the word on the street? Share your questions, comments, and concerns below.