So I was checking out what mortgage rates looked like back in November 2022, and it's pretty interesting to see where things were at that time. The 30-year fixed was sitting around 6.87% APR, which had actually dropped slightly from the week before. If you'd taken out a $100k loan at that rate, you'd be looking at roughly $657 monthly just for principal and interest.

The 15-year options were a bit better at 6.18%, though still pretty high compared to earlier in the year. Jumbo mortgages were basically holding steady at 6.89%, and if you wanted an adjustable rate mortgage, the 5/1 ARM was around 5.48%—that was the cheapest option available at the time.

What struck me most was how much rates had climbed in the first half of 2022. People were genuinely concerned about whether they'd keep going up toward 7% by year-end or if they'd stabilize. Looking back now, it's wild to see how volatile that period was for the housing market. The whole thing really drove home how important it is to shop around and understand what APR actually means—it's not just the interest rate, it includes all the lender fees too, so it gives you the real picture of what you're actually paying.