4 ms·

a steady decline from a massive high.. we started 2018 with a 3.95% for 30 year mortgage, it went all the way up to 4.94% in november. sure, it's declined sinc

• rsj_hn 8y ago
  Wow, how far back does your memory go if you think 4.94% is a "massive high"? Since the modern (post-Bretton Woods) era, mortgages have been above 5% every year until the 2009 crisis, and usually above 7%. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US Going back even further, Measuring Worth https://www.measuringworth.com/datasets/interestrates/ https://www.measuringworth.com/datasets/interestrates/ has long term interest rate data from 1790 and rates now are lower than in 88% of other years -- the only other major periods of such low rates was the depression era to WW2 price/rate controls: 1936-1955. Roughly prior to when the Federal reserve gained its independence and was able to set policies apart from federal budget needs. You are living in a very special period of historically low rates.