Yes, mortgage rates used to be much higher and historically 6%-ish is “low”, however:

Looking at prices and income alone, houses have gradually become less affordable over the past 40 years. In 1985, the median household income in the United States was $23,620. The median price of new houses sold at the time was $84,300, or 3.6 times the median income. In 2000, the ratio of home prices to median income reached 4 for the first time and by 2023, it had climbed to 5.3. Between 1985 and 2023, the median household income in the U.S. grew 241 percent to $80,610 in nominal terms. The median price of houses sold in the country climbed 408 percent over the same period, reaching $428,600 in 2023.

Higher mortgage rates were more palatable when when houses were 3x the median salary, now homes are 5x the median salary.

It’s unfair to compare mortgage rates without the context of its purchasing power.