Rates Hit a Two-Year High – And We’re All Going To Die!

Rates shot up again yesterday – in response to increased concerns that the Fed is going to more aggressively try to push up rates in March in an effort to fend off inflation.

Perspective, Baby!

As a result, rates hit a two-year high! So, I want to put this in perspective.

And – no, I am not going to remind everyone that rates hit 18% in the early 1980s or that they were over 8% for much of the 1990s.

I am going to skip the “6% in the early 2000s” lecture too.

I am going to remind everyone of this: rates were at the same level as recently as 2020, and they were close to 5% as recently as November of 2018!

Please see the below table, or better yet, please click the link from which I borrowed it: FRED Economic Data – 4 Year Mortgage Rate History.

NOTE: The data are for conforming loan (Fannie/Freddie) rates; jumbo rates like I quote daily in my blog tend to be much lower.

TLDR: Rates remain lower than where they have been for most of the last four years, and those rates were among the lowest in history.

Here Are A Few More Reminders

1. CAN’T GET YESTERDAY’S RATES. I wrote that blog last week because borrowers often get angry with us when rates climb – even though we obviously have no control over the broader interest rate environment. I encourage readers to share today’s blog as well as last week’s blog with their clients.
2. CAN ALWAYS REFI. MBS Highway CEO, Barry Habib, reminded the entire lending world today that rates could likely have peaked already and that they could very likely fall again, as he reminded everyone in his “2022 forecast” that I discussed in this recent blog (Habib thinks the Fed’s efforts to fight inflation and a slowing economy will bring rates down). And – if rates do fall, borrowers can easily refinance into a lower rate – at no cost in most cases.

CONCLUSION: Rates are up, but are still more than palatable. AND – we really are “all going to die” (eventually), but it won’t have anything to do with interest rates. 😊

Jay Voorhees
Founder/Broker | JVM Lending
(855) 855-4491 | DRE# 1197176, NMLS# 310167