Lets take a look back at 2010 interest rates from January through December according to Primary Mortgage Market Survey. We are going to use the 30 year fixed rate. The 15 and 5/1 ARM trended similarly, although there are some subtle differences throughout the year.
We started the year out with higher rates then we would reach throughout the rest of the year save the second week in April where rates spiked shortly and then return downward.
On January 7th the 30 year fixed was at 5.09%. It held within a few bases points of 5% all the way through the first week of April. 4.93% was the lowest and 5.09% was the highest rates would reach within that 3 month stretch.
April 8th we saw rates hit the high point of the year at 5.21% After again holding right around 5% through mid May we started seeing the downward spiral which would take the 30 year fixed nearly under 4% in just a few short months.
May 13th marked the beginning of the interest rate decline. At 4.93% on the 13th rates ended May at 4.78%.
June was the same story. Down down down. By the end of June rates were at 4.69%.
July was a large decrease. Rates ended July at 4.54%.
August we witnessed the 30 year dip below 4.5%. On August 5th rates were 4.49% and by the end of August 4.5% seemed high as rates were 4.36%.
September and October just continued the downward trend which lead into November when we say rates hit their lowest point. On November 11th the 30 year fixed rate was 4.17%, the very day that marked the turn around for interest rates.
From that day on rates started rising. A week later they were 4.40%, then just one month after that on December 16th rates were sitting at 4.83% and ended the year at 4.86%.
January to December 2010 was a wild year for rates and mortgages. In an economy which many homes across the nation are worth less than that which is owed on them refinancing was a difficult or impossible thing to accomplish with many homeowners. On the purchasing side of the coin things haven’t been much better than this in decades. Low interest rates and bottomed out house prices means many people got great deals in 2010 on the home they are now living in.
What does 2011 have in store for our nation? What does 2011 have in store for you?
We hope great things!
Happy New Year!
Be financially wise in 2011.
