Imagine an American homeowner who took out a conventional mortgage exactly 30 years ago and is making the last payment. One must imagine it, because only stunning financial ignorance would have dissuaded a borrower from prepaying or refinancing their loan over the years, probably several times. October 1981 was when mortgages were at their most expensive ever at 18.45 per cent, while last week they hit a record low below 4 per cent. The cumulative payments on an identical mortgage are less than a third as much today.
设想一下，有位美国购房者30年前贷了一笔30年期的常规抵押贷款(conventional mortgage)，这些年来一直在按部就班地还月供。举这个例子是为了说明，只有在金融方面极度无知的借款人，才不会在这些年中提前还贷或为这笔房贷进行再融资——现实中，借款人们这些年来很可能进行了若干次再融资。1981年10月，美国抵押贷款利率处在18.45%的峰值；而在上周，抵押贷款利率降至4%以下，达到历史最低水平。与30年前一笔抵押贷款的累计还款金额相比，今天完全相同的一笔抵押贷款的累计还款金额连前者的三分之一都不到。