Mortgage Rates in 1982

What happened to mortgage rates in 1982

Inflation finally broke and the Fed began to ease in the second half of the year, so mortgage rates came down from their record highs, though they were still in the low teens by December.

In 1982, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 16.04%, ranging from a low of 13.57% to a high of 17.66% over the year, down from 16.64% in 1981. That made it the 55th-lowest of the 56 years on record. For comparison, the 30-year fixed sits at about 6.76% today.

How 1982 unfolded

The 30-year fixed eased lower through 1982, starting the year around 17.49% and ending near 13.62%. Within the year, rates peaked near 17.60% in February and bottomed around 13.62% in December. Here is the quarter-by-quarter average:

What a 1982 mortgage actually cost

A rate is abstract until it's a payment. Here's the monthly principal and interest a buyer in 1982 would have locked in at that year's average rate of 16.04%, across a few common loan sizes (30-year term):

Those are principal and interest only — taxes and insurance sit on top. At today's 6.76%, the same $200,000 loan runs about $1,299 a month, so 1982's rate was pricier than today's. To price your own number, use the mortgage calculator.

What 1982's rate could buy

The flip side of the payment is buying power: at 1982's 16.04%, here's how large a 30-year mortgage a given monthly principal-and-interest budget would have supported — and what the same budget buys at today's 6.76%:

Lower rates stretch the same payment across a bigger loan, which is exactly why cheap-money years tend to push home prices up — buyers can finance more for the same monthly cost.

If you bought a home in 1982

Looking back, with rates near 6.76% today, a 1982 borrower who hasn't refinanced may be paying more than they need to — worth running the numbers on a refinance. Either way, 1982's average of 16.04% is a useful yardstick against the 6.76% on offer now — and a reminder that the rate you lock is, for most buyers, a bigger long-run cost than the price you negotiate.

1982 in the bigger picture

Across the full 1971–2026 record, the 30-year fixed has averaged about 7.67%, so 1982 ran above that long-run norm. Within the 1980s, mortgage rates averaged roughly 12.7%, and 1982 sat above its own decade. Five years earlier, in 1977, the average was 8.85%. The following year, 1983, the average fell to 13.24%.

This is one year out of the whole story. For the complete history — every year since 1971, the all-time high and record low, the decade-by-decade view, and what drives rates over time — see historical mortgage rates, 1971–today.