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.
設想一下，有位美國購房者30年前貸了一筆30年期的常規抵押貸款(conventional mortgage)，這些年來一直在按部就班地還月供。舉這個例子是為了說明，只有在金融方面極度無知的借款人，才不會在這些年中提前還貸或為這筆房貸進行再融資——現實中，借款人們這些年來很可能進行了若干次再融資。1981年10月，美國抵押貸款利率處在18.45%的峰值；而在上周，抵押貸款利率降至4%以下，達到歷史最低水平。與30年前一筆抵押貸款的累計還款金額相比，今天完全相同的一筆抵押貸款的累計還款金額連前者的三分之一都不到。