Yesterday the 5-year Note closed at 0.62, two basis points off its historic closing low set Monday and repeated the day before. The news today is the weekly update on mortgage rates from Freddie Mac, which shows the average 30-year fixed at a new all-time low of 3.53 percent, three basis points lower than last week.
Ah, the memories! My wife and I bought our dream home in 1980. The average 30-year fixed was about 13.5 percent. We rejoiced at having locked in a 30-year ARM at 11.75 percent. The next 15 years was an adventure in periodic refinancing after the rates started falling.
The 30-year fixed hit its all-time high about a year after we bought. The weekly average peaked 18.63 percent in October 1981. That was about four months into the second (and much worse) second half of the double dip recession that clobbered the US economy.
Here is an updated snapshot of Treasury yields and the 30-year fixed since the onset of Operation Twist.
Here is the weekly data on the 30-year fixed back to May 1976.
Source: Advisor Perspectives
