Mortgage Interest Rates

Looking for a Credit Card for Christmas Shopping? Before you submit a credit card application, first review the main points which will help you choose the right credit card for your needs.

What Charges You'll Make - If you're going to use the credit card mainly for booking airline reservations and hotels, it might be best for you to get a travel credit card that offers sky miles and hotel points or cashback. If this will be an emergency credit card only, then your main concern may be for a low interest rate credit card with low fees.

When You'll Repay Charges - Will you pay off credit card charges in full every month, or will you carry a balance month to month? If you're going to carry a balance, you want the lowest possible interest rate as well as a low introductory rate. But if you'll payoff balances in full every month, then interest rate really doesn't matter so no annual fee and/or a long grace period would be a bigger concern. If you're going to carry a balance, be concerned about how the finance charge is calculated. The most common method is the Average Daily Balance, which means that the daily balances are added together and then divided by the number of days in the billing cycle. Stay away from credit cards that compute the balance using two billing cycles, as this method costs more money in financing fees.

What Amount You'll Charge - If you're going to use the credit card for all your monthly expenses, then you need a card that has a high credit limit and a high cashback percentage.

More info about Interest Rates, Credit Limits, Incentives, Fees and Penalties

Interest Rates - The interest rate (Annual Percentage Rate) APR can either be a fixed rate or a variable rate that is tied to another financial indicator, most commonly the prime rate. With a fixed rate credit card you know what the interest rate will be every month, whereas a card with a variable rate can fluctuate. Of course, even the interest of a fixed rate card can change based on certain events, such as paying your credit card bill late, exceeding your limit, or simply because the credit card issuer decides to change it after providing you ample advance notice.

Credit Limit - This is the amount of money the credit card company will let you charge to the card. This amount varies depending upon the card offer and your credit history. Be sure to get a credit card with an ample limit, because getting close to your max can hurt your credit score. Just remember that you don't have to max out your limit just because it's available.

Incentives - To compete for and to gain customers, many credit card companies offer rewards. Even if you normally use cash, why not use your credit card and then use the cash to make the payment during the grace period? You still won't pay interest and meanwhile you'll rack-up rewards. A credit card with 5% cashback will earn you $5 for every $100 charged. If your total bills come to $2,000 per month, you'll earn a free $100 every month. Look for a rewards program that you'll use and which offers flexibility, such as cashback or travel.

Fees and Penalties - Compare common charges such as late fees, overlimit fees, balance transfers, cash advances, and for making payments by telephone. Regarding balance transfers, look for credit card offers with no transaction fees and zero percent interest for at least 12 months.

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Mortgage Interest Rates

By Credit Federal | Published 04/15/2006

Investors pushed up the yield on the government's benchmark note to over 5 percent on Thursday, its highest point in nearly four years, and many borrowers may soon end up paying more on mortgages and home equity loans.

A stronger economy and almost two-year money tightening campaign by the Federal Reserve has interest rates rising across the board. This may affect people who borrowed home loans with low introductory interest rates that adjust with market rates.

The 10-year Treasury note, which crossed the 5 percent threshold for the first time since June 2002, is most closely tied to mortgages and is likely to play a role in slowing home price increases and curbing the home buying frenzy in many parts of the country.

Homebuyers with adjustable rate mortgages could experience a jump in interest rates of 3 to 4 percentage points in the next two years, as the typical 3 percent introductory rate is adjusted higher in annual increments. For a family with a $400,000 mortgage, that could translate into an increase of as much as $1,000 in monthly interest payments.

Mortgage delinquencies have already started climbing, although they remain at relatively low levels. In the fourth quarter of last year, 4.7 percent of all home mortgages were delinquent, up from 4.4 percent in the third quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. A delinquent loan is one in which monthly payments are past due for 60 days or more.

But experts note that by past standards borrowing costs still remain modest and that the recent interest rate increases may have only a limited effect on economic growth. For many Americans, the growing number of jobs and improvements in incomes are likely to outweigh the impact of higher mortgage costs.

For much of the last year, analysts and policy makers have struggled to explain why long-term interest rates have remained relatively low, given the Fed's campaign to push up interest rates by increasing its benchmark short-term rate, now at 4.75 percent. Investors now expect the Fed to raise interest rates at least once more, to 5 percent, at its meeting next month.

According to Donald L. Kohn, a Fed governor, rising interest rates were likely to slow the economy later this year, primarily by deflating the once-robust housing market. He indicated that he would favor increasing short-term rates further if the economy sharply accelerated or energy prices shot up, because both could ignite higher inflation.

Many analysts say that longer-term interest rates in the United States have been kept low by the purchase of government securities by foreign governments and investors, particularly from Asia.

There are some early indications that foreign buying is easing. In the first week of April, for instance, the Japanese government purchased foreign bonds at a much slower rate than it did during the comparable period from 2003 to 2005, said Wan-Chong Kung, a senior portfolio manager at First American Funds, a mutual fund company in Minneapolis.

The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that the burden of higher interest costs would fall on about 7 percent to 8 percent of all homeowners. The rest have either paid off their mortgages or face no immediate increase because they took out fixed-rate mortgages or refinanced their earlier loans to mortgages that hold rates steady for 5 to 10 years.

At the same time, new homebuyers will be paying more. The average national 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate was 6.43 percent last week, up from 6.21 percent at the start of the year and 5.71 percent at the start of 2005, according to Freddie Mac. The introductory interest rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage was up to 6.11 percent, from 5.78 percent in January and 5.3 percent a year ago.

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Mortgage Interest Rates - by <a href=http://creditfederal.com>CreditFederal.com</a> Investors pushed up the yield on the government's benchmark note to over 5 percent on Thursday, its highest point in nearly four years, and many borrowers may soon end up paying more on mortgages and home equity loans. A stronger economy and almost two-year money tightening campaign by the Federal Reserve has interest rates rising across the board. This may affect people who borrowed home loans with low introductory interest rates that adjust with market rates. The 10-year Treasury note, which crossed the 5 percent threshold for the first time since June 2002, is most closely tied to mortgages and is likely to play a role in slowing home price increases and curbing the home buying frenzy in many parts of the country. Homebuyers with adjustable rate mortgages could experience a jump in interest rates of 3 to 4 percentage points in the next two years, as the typical 3 percent introductory rate is adjusted higher in annual increments. For a family with a $400,000 mortgage, that could translate into an increase of as much as $1,000 in monthly interest payments. Mortgage delinquencies have already started climbing, although they remain at relatively low levels. In the fourth quarter of last year, 4.7 percent of all home mortgages were delinquent, up from 4.4 percent in the third quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America. A delinquent loan is one in which monthly payments are past due for 60 days or more. But experts note that by past standards borrowing costs still remain modest and that the recent interest rate increases may have only a limited effect on economic growth. For many Americans, the growing number of jobs and improvements in incomes are likely to outweigh the impact of higher mortgage costs. For much of the last year, analysts and policy makers have struggled to explain why long-term interest rates have remained relatively low, given the Fed's campaign to push up interest rates by increasing its benchmark short-term rate, now at 4.75 percent. Investors now expect the Fed to raise interest rates at least once more, to 5 percent, at its meeting next month. According to Donald L. Kohn, a Fed governor, rising interest rates were likely to slow the economy later this year, primarily by deflating the once-robust housing market. He indicated that he would favor increasing short-term rates further if the economy sharply accelerated or energy prices shot up, because both could ignite higher inflation. Many analysts say that longer-term interest rates in the United States have been kept low by the purchase of government securities by foreign governments and investors, particularly from Asia. There are some early indications that foreign buying is easing. In the first week of April, for instance, the Japanese government purchased foreign bonds at a much slower rate than it did during the comparable period from 2003 to 2005, said Wan-Chong Kung, a senior portfolio manager at First American Funds, a mutual fund company in Minneapolis. The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that the burden of higher interest costs would fall on about 7 percent to 8 percent of all homeowners. The rest have either paid off their mortgages or face no immediate increase because they took out fixed-rate mortgages or refinanced their earlier loans to mortgages that hold rates steady for 5 to 10 years. At the same time, new homebuyers will be paying more. The average national 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate was 6.43 percent last week, up from 6.21 percent at the start of the year and 5.71 percent at the start of 2005, according to Freddie Mac. The introductory interest rate on a five-year adjustable-rate mortgage was up to 6.11 percent, from 5.78 percent in January and 5.3 percent a year ago. <a target='_blank' href="http://creditfederal.com/interest-rates.html" target=_blank>View current mortgage and equity rates - Click Here</A> Visit Credit Federal to apply for a <a target='_blank' href="http://creditfederal.com/mortgage-loan.html">mortgage loan</A> interest rate quote. This article provided courtesy of <a href=http://creditfederal.com target=_new>www.CreditFederal.com</a>, a personal credit resource of good or bad credit credit cards and loans.

Credit Tip: Need a high limit for Christmas credit card charges? If you have bad credit, consider a personal loan by refinancing your mortgage. Even if you have cash to buy Christmas presents, we recommend using a prepaid card to make purchases because it's safer than carrying cash.