I hear this point a lot and it's asinine.
Yes we have much higher interest rates in the 1980s and 1990s but house prices as a function of wages have doubled in that time [1]. Here's another view: mortgage debt service as a ratio to personal income [2].
Whichever way you look at it, the current situation is significantly worse and significantly more expensive in real terms so 10%+ interest rates of the past were actually better in real terms.
The real problem is that housing is too expensive. And that's because it's become an investment, people's retirement funds. It should be absolutely impossible for people to hoard housing.
[1]: https://www.longtermtrends.com/home-price-median-annual-inco...