It’s really not.
I had to prove two years of stable income. I had to prove several months of maintaining a high reserve balance. I also had to have an excellent credit record.
What this means is that not only is my income incredibly stable, but also I have an emergency fund to pay my expenses for about 6 months.
In 2006, they were checking for none of this. You could get a loan with no income, no job and no assets.
Oh, and I bought less house than I could afford, and there’s also a second income in my household that didn’t go towards those calculations at all. I plan on staying here for a decade.
TL;DR low down payment not always bad.