As mortgage rates dipped even lower this past week, we got to thinking about the last time we saw rates like this - the 1950s. Let’s put the Tivo on pause and pretend we’re not reading this on the Internet. Lace up your saddle shoes and climb out of the bomb shelter for this brief retrospective on life back then.
With the end of World War II, an economic boom generated new jobs and expendable income. As troops returned from war, attention turned to the home; and as people moved to the newly-constructed suburbs, the Baby Boom generation was born. Elvis burst on the music scene and the polio vaccine was developed. At the same time, nuclear war fears sparked the creation of backyard bomb shelter. Here are some other ’50s factoids:
- In 1950 a new house cost $8,450.00 and by 1959 was $12,400.00, according to ThePeopleHistory.com website. Mortgage rates between 4% and 4.5% were the norm.
- Televisions sets, now affordable, lit up our living rooms. We watched shows about a freakishly perceptive dog called Lassie, a little-too-perfect family in Leave It to Beaver, and fell in love with I Love Lucy, according to Fiftiesweb.com.
- Disneyland opened in California in 1955.
- Rosa Parks refused to give up give up her bus seat to a white man in 1955, becoming a symbol to the Civil Rights Movement.
- Favorite foods to munch on included meatloaf, deviled eggs and Swanson Frozen Dinners, according to Houston Press blogs.
Even with all the changes, we’ve gone back in time with 30-year fixed rate mortgages now at an average of 4.56%, according to the latest figures from Freddie Mac (the average for 15-year fixed rate mortgages also slid down to 4.03%). That’s the lowest since Freddie Mac started tracking rates in 1971. The Associated Press has reported that the last time we saw rates this low for home loans was in the 1950s when mortgages lasted just 20 or 25 years.
Feeling nostalgic? Refinance or get a new home loan through our LendingTee network of lenders.
Photo Credit: gbaku via Creative Commons
- By Anna Cearley, LendingTree/Tree.com
As a bonus, enjoy this public domain 1959 video (from archive.org/Prelinger Archives via retroracer3) of a family buying a car. It’s got some classic facial expressions.
Help us add to this list of ’50s factoids by including your own memories and links below
