In July 2022, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell below 3% for the first time in history.1 And rates have continued to remain low in 2022. Are today’s rates truly a bargain?
And while many Americans have rushed to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity, others question the hype.
While average mortgage rates have drifted between 4% and 5% in recent years, they haven’t always been so low.
Freddie Mac began tracking 30-year mortgage rates in 1971. At that time, the national average was 7.31%.2
As the rate of inflation started to rise in the mid-1970s, mortgage rates surged. It’s hard to imagine now, but the average U.S. mortgage rate reached a high of 18.63% in 1981.3
Fortunately for home buyers, inflation normalized by October 1982, which sent mortgage rates on a downward trajectory that would bring them as low as 3.31% in 2012.3
Since 2012, 30-year fixed rates have risen modestly, with the daily average climbing as high as 4.94% in 2018.4
So what’s causing today’s rates to sink to unprecedented lows? Economic uncertainty.
Mortgage rates generally follow bond yields, because the majority of U.S. mortgages are packaged together and sold as bonds. Increased demand has driven bond yields — and mortgage rates — down.5
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to dampen the economy and inject volatility into the stock market, a growing number of investors are shifting their money into low-risk bonds.
However, according to National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, “the number one driver of low mortgage rates is the accommodating Federal Reserve stance to keep interest rates low and to buy up mortgage-backed securities.”
According to Yun, “we will see mortgage rates stay near this level for the next 18 months because of the significance of the Fed’s stance.”6
