Archive for February, 2010
Best Mortgage Rates Stay Below 5%
Lenders are offering traditional fixed-rate mortgages for less than 5% in nine of the 10 major cities we surveyed this month.
That’s quite an improvement from July when only one of the 10 cities we looked at had those loans available for less than 5%.
It’s nearly as good as what we found in November, when average mortgage rates plunged to new record lows and loans were available for less than 5% in every single city we surveyed.
By any historical standard, a 30-year, fixed-rate loan that costs less than 6.5% is a good deal. That makes today’s rates nothing short of spectacular.
Top 6-Month CD Rates Hold At 1.60%
Country Bank leapt to the top of our rankings of the best 6-month CD rates last month — and it’s still there.
The small bank with 14 branches in central Massachusetts, continues to pay 1.60% APY, with a very reasonable minimum deposit of just $500.
The downside is that you can’t open an account online. You have to call the bank at (800) 322-8233 and a representative will explain how to buy a certificate of deposit by mail.
But Country Bank has been at or near the top of our rankings for almost six months and we haven’t heard a word of complaint about the bank’s customer service.
Four other banks are offering 1.40% APY to savers in all 50 states. They are:
The Jacksonville Bank, which has five locations in northeast Florida and requires a $1,000 minimum deposit.
AmTrust Direct, whose parent company was seized by the FDIC in December and sold to New York Community Bank. It requires a $1,000 minimum deposit.
Earthstar Bank, with four branches in Philadelphia, requires a minimum deposit of $500 in new money to earn this rate.
The Palladian Private Bank, a division of The PrivateBank and Trust Co. , with 34 locations in 10 Midwestern states. A $10,000 minimum is required.
Those rates are more than four times the national average for returns on 6-month CDs, which has fallen to a record low 0.33% APY this month.
Click on our CD calculator to find the return on any certificate of deposit, regardless of size, interest rate or term.
