Michael A. Jones - PREC* | Royal LePage Kelowna
People love to say mortgage rates in the '80s were worse. They point to +10% mortgages like that settles the argument.
It doesn't.
A $100,000 home at 10% cost $716 a month. A $650,000 home today at 4.34% costs $2,832 a month. Same city. Same 25-year amortization. Same monthly payment frequency. Six and a half times the home price produced a mortgage payment four times larger, even with rates less than half as high.
The Numbers, Side by Side
Here is the straight comparison with no spin. Both scenarios use 20% down, a 25-year amortization, and no CMHC insurance. Both buyers did everything right.
- Then: $100,000 home, 10% rate, $20,000 down, mortgage of $80,000. Monthly payment: $716.
- Now: $650,000 home, 4.34% rate, $130,000 down, mortgage of $520,000. Monthly payment: $2,832.
The "then" buyer needed $20,000 saved. The "now" buyer needs $130,000 saved before getting to the front door. One buyer saved for a year. The other saved for a decade. Both put down 20%. Both avoided mortgage insurance. One is celebrated as a homeowner. The other is told they are not trying hard enough.
Buyers Today Carry More of Everything
Buyers today carry more debt, need more income to qualify, and put down more cash just to reach the same front door. The rate is lower. Everything else is harder.
That is not an opinion. That is what the numbers show when you run them without nostalgia in the way.
"But We Got Paid Less Back Then."
Sure. And a pound of apples cost thirty cents.
You cannot compare 1985 wages to 2026 prices. Everything changed. The house. The salary. The grocery bill. You do not get to cherry-pick the rate and freeze everything else.
This is the core error in the argument. People isolate one variable, the interest rate, and treat everything else as constant. But nothing else was constant. Not the price of the home. Not the income required to qualify. Not the down payment needed to avoid CMHC insurance. Not the cost of living that made saving that down payment possible in the first place.
Pulling one number out of a completely different economic era and using it to dismiss today's buyer is not analysis. It is nostalgia with a calculator.
Compare an apple to an avocado and all you get is gross guacamole.
“Compare an apple to an avocado and all you get is gross guacamole.”
— Michael A. Jones, PREC* | Royal LePage Kelowna
What This Means for Buyers in Kelowna Right Now
Anyone who tells you today's market is easier because rates dropped from the highs of the "uphill both ways '80s" has not run the numbers.
The Kelowna market in 2026 rewards buyers who go in with clear eyes and accurate information. The rate environment is more favorable than it was two years ago. That is real and it matters. But lower rates did not reset home prices. They did not refund your down payment. They did not lower the income threshold your lender uses to qualify you.
If you are running the numbers on a move to the Central Okanagan and want to know what your situation actually looks like, that conversation starts with real figures, not a comparison to a market that no longer exists.
I run these numbers every week.
All for now,
Michael
This blog post is for general informational purposes only. Mortgage payment figures are calculated using publicly available rate and amortization tools and are provided for illustrative comparison only. They do not constitute financial advice, mortgage advice, or a guarantee of any rate or payment. Mortgage qualification, rates, and payments vary by lender, borrower profile, and market conditions. All figures are in Canadian dollars. Michael A. Jones is a licensed REALTOR® with Royal LePage Kelowna and is not a mortgage broker, financial advisor, or lender. For mortgage advice specific to your situation, consult a licensed mortgage professional.