It's not just interest rate that affect affordability.
When you earn $15K to $20K a year and your mortgage is only some $60K to $80K... even if interest is high, it's still very doable.
When you earn $40K but the average mortgage around your blue collar neighbourhood is some $800K to $1M, with interest rate definitely going to rise soon... it's a different ball game.
Then there's the living expenses. Electricity was a lot cheaper, say; food was a lot cheaper. Remember when you can buy an entire box of apple for $5 at the market?
Then there's also job security. You're less likely to get fired or made redundant; your wage actually grow with productivity and above inflation etc. etc.
Anyone who thinks people earning $40K could afford a $1M rundown home do not live in the real world.
