Mortgage Rates Not That High!

Brooke Franke Gagnon

(while this article is sourced from Freddie Mac, I wanted to add that my parent's home was purchased with 14% interest)! Imagine!

People are complaining about mortgage rates. I understand that nobody likes when things get more expensive, but the truth of the matter is, rates are not that high! Yes, they are higher than they have been recently, and yes, you do have to go back to 2009 to find average mortgage rates in the 5% range and 2008 when they were last averaging in the 6% area. To be fair, it was only 21 years ago when rates averaged in the 8% range, and you have to go back to 1991 to find 9% and 1990 to see double digits, but before that, it was double digits from 1979 for 11 years! Including 1981 and 1982 when rates were 16+%!

So yes, mortgage rates are higher than they were recently, but take a look at the rates on your credit cards! How many people are carrying balances on credit cards that are 15% - 18% - 20+%? What about the cost of gasoline, food, and just about everything else? Have you seen Rent?

Yes, rates are higher, but we are still seeing many refinances. While significantly lower than the number from last year, it still amazes me that there are as many as there are. Here is what I am seeing.

While rates are higher than they were, it still can make sense to refinance and pay off debt to lower total monthly payments.
Higher rates but a large amount of home equity can make home renovations easier to manage than selling and moving.
Increased numbers of 5/1 – 7/1 – 10/1 ARMS help reduce payment shock while the markets find the new normal.
Some lenders are offering to refinance the loan for free in the future if rates fall back down.
Once again, it can be about the value of the total payment is lower, not just the interest rate on one loan.

You must share real information. Go print out a chart so you can share it with your people. You have to make complete comparisons. When you do, you will see, It’s not that high!

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Year	Average 30-Year Rate	Year	Average 30-Year Rate	Year	Average 30-Year Rate
1974	9.19%	1990	10.13%	2006	6.41%
1975	9.05%	1991	9.25%	2007	6.34%
1976	8.87%	1992	8.39%	2008	6.03%
1977	8.85%	1993	7.31%	2009	5.04%
1978	9.64%	1994	8.38%	2010	4.69%
1979	11.20%	1995	7.93%	2011	4.45%
1980	13.74%	1996	7.81%	2012	3.66%
1981	16.63%	1997	7.60%	2013	3.98%
1982	16.04%	1998	6.94%	2014	4.17%
1983	13.24%	1999	7.44%	2015	3.85%
1984	13.88%	2000	8.05%	2016	3.65%
1985	12.43%	2001	6.97%	2017	3.99%
1986	10.19%	2002	6.54%	2018	4.54%
1987	10.21%	2003	5.83%	2019	3.94%
1988	10.34%	2004	5.84%	2020	3.10%
1989	10.32%	2005	5.87%	2021	2.96%