Just looking back at mortgage rate data from late October 2023 and it's interesting to see how things were holding steady back then. The 30-year fixed was sitting around 8.26% if I remember right, with the 15-year coming in at 7.32%. Pretty different from what we're seeing now in 2026. On a 100k loan, that 8.26% rate meant you'd be looking at roughly 752 bucks a month just in principal and interest. Over the life of the loan, total interest would hit around 170k. The jumbo market was slightly better at 8.12% for 30-year fixed mortgages. What's wild is how much these rates matter for affordability. Back then, people were really focused on credit scores and debt-to-income ratios to try and lock in better terms. Most lenders were offering rate locks for 30-60 days, sometimes longer if you paid extra. Makes you think about how mortgage rates october 2023 compared to earlier that month too - rates had barely budged week to week. If you were shopping for a house during that period, the conventional mortgages were the competitive option if you had a decent credit score, but FHA and VA loans were still attractive for buyers who couldn't put down 20%. Interesting to reflect on where rates were back then versus now.