For the past few years, everyone has been speculating about rates going up. Well, wonder no more — rates have increased. We can’t be certain if they will get even higher or come down, but we can count on rates continuing to change.
Most industry professionals have never seen rates move as quickly as they have been lately, so let’s take a moment to dive into rates and how you can help your borrowers navigate this higher-rate environment.
Rate Trends Historically
Like I said, if we know anything about rates, it’s that they will fluctuate. Every decade — and even every year — they will have their highs and lows. It’s encouraging to remember that these are not the highest rates have ever been — not even close. Rates have been so low in the last few decades that it makes today’s rates seem more intimidating than it should. It is the highest they’ve been in years, but if you look over decades of rates, today’s “high” rates are still well below average, data from Freddie Mac shows. Rates have been as high as 19% looking back to the early 80s and the average for a 30-year-fixed-rate over the last 30 years is 7.78%. When examined wholistically, rates aren’t as bad as they seem.