Just looked back at the mortgage landscape from early 2023 and it's interesting to see where rates were sitting. Back in March 2023, mortgage rates were climbing pretty steadily. The 30-year fixed was hovering around 6.96% APR, which was already up from 6.89% the week before. If you'd locked in a $100k loan at that rate, you're looking at roughly $663 monthly for principal and interest.

The 15-year fixed was sitting at 6.15% that same period, so not a huge gap between the two. For jumbo mortgages, rates were even higher at 7.05%. What struck me most was how volatile things were—over that 52-week span, rates had swung from a low of 4.84% all the way to 7.41% on the 30-year side.

The 5/1 ARM option was cheaper upfront at 5.65%, which made sense for people willing to take that reset risk later. Anyway, just remembering how tight the market felt back in March 2023 mortgage rates environment. Makes you appreciate how the landscape shifts year to year.