Just looked back at what mortgage rates looked like back in November 2023 and honestly the numbers were pretty wild. 30-year fixed was sitting around 7.86% APR at 7.74%, while 15-year options were hovering near 7.01%. For context, a $100k mortgage at those November 2023 rates would run you roughly $724 monthly on the 30-year, which adds up to like $160k+ in interest over the life of the loan. Crazy when you think about it.

What's interesting is how much those rates fluctuated week to week back then. The 30-year had dropped from 8.02% the previous week, while 15-year mortgages were down about 0.19 points. Even jumbo mortgages in that November 2023 timeframe were around 7.83% on the 30-year side.

If you were actually shopping for a house during that period, the conventional wisdom was pretty straightforward - good credit score (670+), keeping your debt-to-income ratio under 43%, and throwing down at least 20% to avoid PMI. Different loan types had different perks too, whether you qualified for FHA, VA, USDA or needed a jumbo. The whole mortgage landscape in November 2023 was basically shaped by Fed decisions and inflation trends at the time.

Anyone else remember how stressful it was trying to lock in rates back then? The typical rate lock was 30-60 days, sometimes extended to 90-120 depending on your lender.