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.
Best 24-Month CD Rates Edge Lower
The banks are pretty much the same. But the returns are worse.
That’s the sorry story of our latest rankings of the best, nationally available 24-month CD rates.
In November our top-paying banks were offering 2-year certificates of deposit for 2.60% to 2.55% APY and you only needed a $1,000 minimum deposit to qualify for the top rate.
This month you’ll earn 2.50% to 2.30% APY and need a whopping $50,000 to qualify for the top rate.
Although that’s still twice as much as you can make with the typical 2-year CD, it’s not saying much. The average rate on these CDs plunged to a record low of 1.26% APY last week.
The best, nationally available deals on 24-month CDs are:
2.50% APY with a minimum deposit of $50,000 for “Silver CDs” from Frontier Bank, which has 50 branches in Washington and Oregon. You can also earn 2.45% with a $25,000 minimum deposit and 2.40% with a $500 minimum deposit.
2.40 APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 from The Jacksonville Bank, with five locations in that Florida city.
2.40 APY with a minimum deposit of $1,000 from Atlantic Coast Bank, with 12 full-service branches in southeast Georgia and northeast Florida.
2.30 APY with a $5,000 minimum from Hudson City Bank with dozens of branches in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. If you live near a Hudson City branch the minimum deposit is only $500.
Click here to compare these offers with the best CD rates from dozens of other banks in our database.
Related Posts:Frontier Alone At Top Of 2-Year CD RatesBest 24-Month CD Rates Jump to 2.60%Best 24-Month CD Rates Hold At 2.50%Hudson City Rockets Up CD Rate RankingsOne Bank Still Pays 3% On 3-Year CDs
Reap 2.5% Returns With Best 2-Year CDs
Tennessee Commerce Bank grabbed the top spot in our September rankings of the best 24-month CD rates.
It’s mid-August rate hike to a 2.50% APY makes it the best-paying, nationally-available 24-month certificate of deposit we can find.
As recently as July you could still find at least one bank paying 3% on 2-year CDs. But that’s no longer the case, with the national average for these investments dropping to a near-record low 1.47% APY last week.
The top deals currently available to all savers are:
2.50% APY with a $2,500 minimum deposit from Tennessee Commerce Bank, which has a single location in Franklin.
2.50% APY with a minimum deposit of $50,000 or 2.40% APY with a minimum deposit of $500 for “Silver CDs” from Frontier Bank, which has 50 branches in Washington and Oregon.
2.43% APY with a minimum deposit of $2,500 or 2.48% APY with a minimum deposit of $25,000 from Wedbush Bank, which has one branch in Los Angeles.
2.40% APY with a minimum deposit of $5,000 from OneWest Bank, with 33 branches in Los Angeles area.
Frontier led our August survey with slightly higher returns — 2.70% APY with a $50,000 minimum deposit and 2.60% APY with a $500 minimum deposit.
Click here to compare these deals with the best CD rates from dozens of other banks in our extensive database.
Related Posts:Tennessee Bank Boosts 24-Month CD RatesEarn 2.4% With Wedbush’s 2-Year CDsBest Savings Accounts Pay Over 2% APYWashington Bank Tops 24-Month CD Rates11-Month CD Special Offers 2.78% APY
Best 12-Month CD Rates Hold Steady
The banks are different, but the deals are pretty much the same, in our latest survey of the best 12-month CD rates.
That is encouraging.
Ever since the financial crisis struck last fall, all of the top-paying certificates of deposit have come from small banks.
They quickly got all the deposits they needed, cut their rates, and created an incredible amount of churn in our rankings of the best deals.
For the first half of the year, the community and online banks that claimed a top spot inevitably offered lower rates than those they replaced.
That’s why today’s best CD rates are lower than last summers average CD rates.
But over the past few weeks we’ve seen the banks rising to the top of our list with offers that are close to those they’re replacing.
Could interest rates be bottoming out? Could long slide that began two years ago finally be over?
When we ranked the best, nationally-available deals in July the three top rates for 12-month CDs were 2.26%, 2.25% and 2.25%.
These are the best 12-month CD rates available now:
2.30% APY with a $10,000 minimum deposit from Wilshire State Bank, headquartered in Los Angeles with 21 branches in four states.
That’s for Wishire’s “Flex CD,” which allows you to make additional deposits and up to six withdrawals before maturity. If you don’t have that much to invest, you can earn 2.15% with a $1,000 minimum deposit in a traditional CD.
2.25% APY with a $500 minimum deposit from Frontier Bank, with 38 locations in Washington and four in Oregon.
2.25% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit from United Central Bank, which is based in Garland, Texas, and has 19 offices in Texas, Virginia, California, Maryland and Georgia.
Use our extensive database to compare these deals with the best CD rates from scores of other banks.
Related Posts:Top 6-Month CD Rates Now 2% — Or LessWashington Bank Tops 24-Month CD RatesFirst Trade Union Tops 36-Month CD RatesEarn 2.50% With Top 6-Month CD Rates17-Month Special Beats Most CD Rates
FREE $25 Best Buy Gift Certificate @ HSBC
HSBCdirect Online Savings has a special bank promo where new customers of their online savings account get a free $25 Best Buy GC.
HSBC Direct’s Money Market account is pretty good because it earns 5.05% APY.
