The DTI ratios were lower, from what I’ve read and from what I remember when my parents were RE brokers.
Historical limits
The business of lending and borrowing money has evolved qualitatively in the post-World-War-II era. It was not until that era that the FHA and the VA (through the G.I. Bill) led the creation of a mass market in 30-year, fixed-rate, amortized mortgages. It was not until the 1970s that the average working person carried credit card balances (more information at Credit card#History). Thus the typical DTI limit in use in the 1970s was PITI<25%, with no codified limit for the second DTI ratio (the one including credit cards). In other words, in today's notation, it could be expressed as 25/25, or perhaps more accurately, 25/NA, with the NA limit left to the discretion of lenders on a case-by-case basis. In the following decades these limits gradually climbed higher, and the second limit was codified (coinciding with the evolution of modern credit scoring), as lenders determined empirically how much risk was profitable. This empirical process continues today.
In these times, with higher costs, more debt, less secure jobs, fewer DB pensions, and potentially catastrophic medical expenses, etc., I think it’s prudent to reduce these DTI ratios by quite a bit.
In your numbers, where is the buffer for extended periods of unemployment, disability, divorce, untimely death, etc.? What about saving for college or retirement? I think $2,000/month for a family’s living expenses is cutting it thin (this is admittedly different for childless people, or those with significant assets, as they have far fewer expenses or more resources).
