Historical mortgage rates: 1971 to 2022

1970s

1971 was the first year Freddie Mac started surveying mortgage lenders, and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hovered between 7.29% and 7.73%. The annual rate of inflation started spiking in 1974 and continued to spike into the 1980s. As a result, lenders increased rates to keep up with unchecked inflation, leading to mortgage rate volatility for borrowers. Rates crossed into double-digit territory bumping up to 10.11% toward the end of 1978 and steadily rising to 12.90% by end of the 1970s.

1980s

By 1981, inflation had risen to 9.5%. The Federal Reserve combated inflation by increasing the federal funds rate, an overnight benchmark rate that banks charge each other. Continued hikes in the fed funds rate pushed mortgage rates to an all-time high of 18.45% in 1981. Although the Fed’s strategy helped push inflation back to normal levels by the end of 1982, mortgage rates remained mostly in the double-digits for the rest of the decade.

1990s

Mortgage rates finally crossed convincingly into the single-digits again by the beginning of the 1990s. Homeowners who had purchased their home with a mortgage during the 1980s with rates in the 18% range were able to cut their rates in half as rates dropped. For example, a borrower with a $120,000 mortgage could reduce the principal and interest payment on their mortgage from $1,809 to $966 per month by refinancing from an 18% rate to a 9% rate. The low-rate environment created a refinancing boom, with rates briefly dropping below 7% for most of 1998 — allowing many owners to refinance multiple times.

2000s

The downward trend in mortgage rates stalled out and reversed course with rates jumping back above 8% in 2000. However, they gradually made their way back below the 6% mark by 2003 and remained in the high 5% to low 6% range for the rest of the decade, before briefly dropping to a decade low of 4.81% in 2009.

2010s

Mortgage rates dropped to a record low of 3.35% in November 2012. To put it into perspective, the monthly payment for a $100,000 loan at the historical peak rate of 18.45% in 1981 was $1,544, compared to $441 at a much lower rate of 3.35% in 2012. For the remainder of the decade, rates stayed in the 3.45% to 4.87% range.

2020s

The first two years of the 2020s were a roller coaster ride, with rates dropping to new historical lows; this was followed by one of the highest spikes in inflation since the 1980s just over a year later. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in 2020, the Federal Reserve cut the federal funds rate almost to 0% to stabilize the economy, as businesses closed to stop the spread of the virus and public health officials ordered Americans across the country to shelter in place.

By December 2020, the 30-year mortgage rate plummeted to a new historical low of 2.68%. Rates spent most of 2021 between 2.70% and 3.10%, giving many borrowers an opportunity to refinance or buy homes at the lowest rates ever recorded.

2022

In March 2022, the Consumer Price Index, an important gauge of consumer inflation, increased by 8.5% — the largest 12-month spike since 1981. Rates were already headed higher before the inflation report, starting the year off at 3.45% in January. They’ve steadily risen each month in 2022, with the U.S. weekly average 30-year fixed rate rising to 5.30% as of May 12, 2022.

By Peter Miller