That it's irrelevant to the comparison. Most people, when comparing two things are interested in what's different, not what's the same. Add PMI to the 1987 loan and you get an extra ~$106 per month. Property tax adds another ~$150 per month. Even using today's homeowner's insurance rate of approximately $200 in coverage for each $1 premium means you had to pay about $40 each month. So, we add up all 1987's costs: $1,146 for the mortgage, $106 for PMI, $150 for property tax, and $40 for insurance. Your total cost is around $1,442 per month, which is 430 times minimum wage. Now, let's do the same for today. PMI will run you about $263. Property tax will be around $365. Insurance will be around $125. When we add up all of today's costs we get $2,103 per month, which is 290 times minimum wage. You realize that a home that costs 430 times what you make is harder to afford than one that costs 290 times what you make, right? Another way to put it: In 1987 you needed to earn 6.2 times the minimum wage to be able to afford a house using only 40% of your gross income. Today you only need to earn 4.2 times the minimum wage to achieve the same thing.