Back in October 2022, mortgage rates in October were climbing pretty noticeably. The 30-year fixed had hit 7.22%, up from 7.10% just a week before. If you were looking at shorter-term options, the 15-year fixed was sitting at 6.38%, which represented a 0.12% jump from the previous week. It was a rough time for anyone trying to lock in rates.

What made it more complicated was understanding the full cost picture. The APR on those 30-year mortgages was actually 7.23%, which includes both the interest rate and lender fees. So if you were borrowing $100,000 at that 7.22% rate, you'd be looking at roughly $680 monthly for principal and interest alone. Over the life of the loan, that added up to about $144,851 in total interest. Pretty eye-opening when you saw it laid out like that.

The 15-year options weren't much better. At 6.38%, a $100,000 loan would cost you $865 monthly, with $55,614 in total interest over the full term. For jumbo mortgages, things were even steeper at 7.23% for a 30-year fixed. Those rates in October 2022 reflected the broader economic pressures happening at the time.

For anyone considering an ARM, the 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage was averaging 5.41%, still higher than it had been earlier in the year. The whole mortgage market was shifting upward, making refinancing less attractive for most homeowners. Back then, understanding your debt-to-income ratio and having a solid credit score became even more critical when trying to figure out what you could actually afford.