Just looking back at the mortgage rates from August 2020 and honestly, the market was wild back then. Rates had been dropping like crazy, and everyone was watching 30-year mortgages creep back above 3% after hitting historic lows. At 3.03% for a 30-year fixed, you were looking at around $846 monthly on a $200k loan - still pretty solid compared to what we usually see. What caught my attention though was how the shorter-term loans were priced. The 15-year fixed at 2.551% was crazy low if you could swing those payments, and even the 20-year options at 3.016% made sense for people wanting to pay off faster. The 5/1 ARMs though? At 3.305%, they weren't really competitive against the fixed rates at that time. The whole August 2020 mortgage rates picture basically told you to lock in if you were closing soon. Fed was already hinting rates would climb, so waiting around didn't make much sense. Rates that competitive don't stick around forever.