How Things Have Changed in the Past 3 and a Half Years

I just came across an old spreadsheet that I had created on October 7, 2008 that compared interest rates and payments for a typical home in Whittier.

The average interest rate at the time was 6.5%.

The average Whittier home price was $470,000.

FHA loans allowed borrowers to have a down payment of only 3% of the purchase price.

Today, the nationwide interest rate for a home loan is 3.88%, according to bankrate.com.

Today, the average Whittier home price is $295,000 (based upon last 3 months of sales).

Today, FHA loans allow borrowers to have a down payment as low as 3.5% of the purchase price.

Using bankrate.com's mortgage calculator, the monthly payment on a $470,000 home loan at 6.5% is $2,970.72.

Using the same bankrate.com calculator, a comparable home loan today of $295,000 at 3.88% interest has a monthly payment of $1,388.04.

Do you think homes are much more affordable today than they were only 3 years ago?