Nobody is saying things were harder they’re saying interest rates aren’t the problem. Note the principal on your first home.
How do you think the principal got higher, magic?
There simply aren't houses.
Inflation doesn't help, but housing prices have risen way faster than the rate of inflation. So again: find the actual problem and solve it.
Because it’s their only high growth asset, and their largest.
How did it get that way?
You can go step by step through this process of root cause analysis and see that it is because our money is weak.