Amy Fontinelle is a freelance writer, researcher and editor who brings a journalistic approach to personal finance content. Since 2004, she has worked with lenders, real estate agents, consultants ...

The residential mortgage as we know it today is less than a century old. In fact, until the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was established in 1934, only one in 10 Americans even owned a home.

Looking at the past four decades, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage peaked in 1981, rising just above 16 percent. The average 30-year fixed rate bottomed in 2021 at just under 3 percent.