I had an interest rate at 8.3% then the next house I had to borrow at 11.2% Hard for me to get too excited over the low interest of today.
These low interest rates are making house unaffordable due to the tremendous amount of upfront money required to buy a starter house for a young family...
In most places, FHA and THDA are offering low down payments, the problem is, as stated earlier, 6%-7% is not terrible on an $80,000 loan. It's brutal on a $400,000+ loan, and then there's the price inching up above $450,000 or higher here. For a young family, with average incomes, anyway. Even a 30 year mortgage is often out of reach, and they're 1/2% to 1% higher than a 15.
Hell, I wouldn't want to pay my 15 year mortgage if it was at 6% rather than 3%. We probably could afford it, if I stopped contributing to my retirement, and gave up everything else.
People who don't need to sell are not selling cheap. People who want to sell are selling high. The new thing is the massive number of "leased" homes. Entire developments where you NEVER own the home. You have an open ended lease, and it ain't lease to own. About 7-8 miles from my house, there's a 200 house development leasing houses at $2500 a month.