Just looked back at some mortgage data from late October 2023 and the rates were pretty wild that month. The 30-year fixed had climbed to 8.29% with an APR of 8.25%, up from 8.07% the week before. That meant a $100k mortgage was running about $754 monthly just in principal and interest. The 15-year options were sitting around 7.40%, so not a huge gap between the two.

What caught my eye was how much the jumbo mortgages spiked - they hit 8.17% that week, up over 0.20 points. Basically if you were looking at a $750k jumbo, you're looking at roughly $5,600 a month in payments. The whole market was responding to Fed rate decisions and bond yields at the time.

Interest rates in October 2023 were all over the place because of inflation concerns and the Fed's moves. If you were shopping for a house back then, your credit score and down payment percentage made a huge difference - borrowers with 670+ scores could qualify for better rates, and putting down 20% helped you skip PMI entirely. The conventional mortgages were more competitive than FHA or VA loans if you had decent credit.

Looking back, that period was a tough time for home buyers with rates that high. Now I'm curious how much has shifted since then.