This makes mortgages more affordable and homes more sellable.

In short, it’s a better time to buy a house than it has been in almost 50 years. And mortgage rates are to thank.

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• 30-year rates since 1972
• Can rates go lower?
• Historical perspective
• Are negative mortgage rates possible?

At the time of writing this article, the average rate for a 30-year mortgage was just 3.51%, per Freddie Mac. It’s not exaggerating to say that’s insanely low.

As mentioned above, that’s less than half the historical average for 30-year fixed-rate loans.

But when rates fall sharply as they’ve done in late 2019 and early 2020, people don’t often ask when they’ll rise again.

Instead, buyers ask

The short answer is that mortgage rates can always go lower. But you shouldn’t them to. Here’s what that means:

Rates move with markets worldwide, and events both inside and outside the U.S. can have unexpected effects on mortgage interest.

We saw an example of that early in 2020.

At the start of the year, experts predicted steady mortgage rates across the board. Rates weren’t expected to move much above or below 3.7%.

Then the Wuhan coronavirus started spreading, and markets took a sharp turn.

Investors worried about the stock market turned to safer investments — like mortgage-backed securities. As a result, the average 30-year rate dropped from 3.6% to 3.51% in just a week. And if these fears continue, rates could go lower.

So, yes, mortgage rates could go lower. But you shouldn’t hinge your home buying hopes on a rate below 3.5% or even 3.7%.

It would take another unexpected move for rates to drop further — and they’re just as likely to rise instead. If you can lock at today’s rates, it’s a good idea to do so.

The long-term average for mortgage rates is about 8%. That’s according to Freddie Mac records going back to 1971.

But mortgage rates can move a lot from year to year — even from day to day. And some years have seen much bigger moves than others.

Here’s a look at just a few, to show how rates often buck conventional wisdom and move in unexpected ways.

1981 — The all-time high

This year was the worst on record. How bad is bad? The average mortgage rate in 1981 was 16.63%.

At 16.63% a $200,000 mortgage has a monthly cost for principal and interest of $2,800. Compared with the long-time average that’s an extra monthly cost of $1,300 or $15,900 per year.

And that’s just the average – some people paid more. For the week of Oct. 9, 1981 mortgage rates averaged 18.63%, the highest weekly rate on record and almost five times the 2019 annual rate.

2008 — The slump

This was the final gasp of the mortgage meltdown. Real estate financing was available in 2008 for 6.03% according to Freddie Mac. The monthly cost for a $200,000 mortgage was about $1,200 per month, not including taxes and insurance.

2016 — The all-time low

2016 held the lowest annual mortgage rate on record going back to 1971. Freddie Mac says the typical 2016 mortgage was priced at just 3.65%.

A $200,000 mortgage at 3.65% has a monthly cost for principal and interest of $915. That’s $553 a month less than the long-term average.

The only time mortgage rates dropped lower was in 2012, when one week in November averaged 3.31%. But some of 2012 was higher, and the entire year averaged out at 3.66% for a 30-year mortgage.

2019 — The surprise dropoff

In 2018, many economists predicted that 2019 mortgage rates would top 5.5%. That turned out to be wrong.

In fact, rates dropped down in 2019. The average mortgage rate went from 4.54% in 2018 to 3.94% in 2019.

At 3.94% the monthly cost for a $200,000 is $948. That’s a savings of $520 a month – $6,240 a year – when compared with the 8% long-term average.

Around the world, some $15 trillion has been invested at negative interest levels, according to Bloomberg. There are actually mortgages with negative interest. That means the bank pays the borrower.

Could that happen in the U.S.? Lower rates are certainly plausible, but negative rates seem like a stretch.

“From a US perspective,” says the Urban Institute, “negative mortgage rates would require a rate decrease by more than 350 basis points. But we have seen moves of this magnitude recently. For example, mortgage rates decreased by 300 basis points between 2007 and 2012.”

So it could theoretically be possible. But note: that drop of 300 basis points (or 3%) took five years. And, the lower rates go, the harder it is for them to drop further.

So don’t expect negative interest rates — or even rates much lower than they are today — in the very near future.

When to lock your mortgage rate

Keep an eye on daily rate changes. But if you get a good mortgage rate quote today, don’t hesitate to lock it in.

Remember, if you can secure a 30-year mortgage rate in the mid-3% range, you’re paying less than half as much as most American homebuyers in recent history. That’s not a bad deal.