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Home Mortgage Preparation :: Historic Mortgage Rates
Historic Mortgage Rates:
Why Historic Mortgage Data and Rates are Important and Where to Find Them
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Historic mortgage rates are a breakdown of average mortgage interest rates over the last 30-plus years. But, why are they important and what do they tell us?
Why Historic Mortgage Data is Important
Historic mortgage rates are important because they allow you to see rates as part of a comprehensive and complete picture, and they also let you recognize trends.
First, looking at rates over the course of a few months in a desperate attempt to lock in at the lowest rate possible will only leave you confused and waiting forever like a stood-up prom date.
Anyone looking at mortgage rates since 1978 will see that mortgage rates are currently at an all-time low. They may fluctuate slightly or be inching up, but in the larger scheme or picture, the rates are still low. And buyers need to recognize that finding a good mortgage goes beyond a quarter of a percentage point.
Historic mortgage data, however, can help you recognize trends. However, those trends are often in conjunction with other data. For example, one study conducted at Princeton University showed that every time unemployment rates raised by a percentage point over a six-month period, mortgage rates soon followed.
Another study done at Berkeley found that when the price of gas rose over 10 cents a gallon, mortgage rates soon followed.
Historic mortgage data also shows us that rates tend to rise slightly during peak purchasing season in the spring and early summer.
Where to Find Historic Mortgage Rate Data
One of the best websites to find mortgage rate data is the Freddie Mac website at http://www.freddiemac.com/pmms/pmms_archives.html. There, you can view charts, graphs and tables on everything from 30-year fixed-rate mortgages to adjustable rates and other termed loans going back as far as 1971.
Their historic mortgage rates are collected through the PMMS – Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The PMMS surveys lenders every week on their current rates and publishes its figures every Thursday. It is considered the most reliable source of national and regional mortgage rate data and trends.
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Home-Mortgage-Preparation.com :: Historic Mortgage Rates