Discover Bank, the banking arm of the credit card company, is offering a $25 certificate of deposit account opening bonus. The promo bonus CD offer is good for any CD term of 12 months or longer.

A minimum opening deposit of $10,000 must also be received within 30 days of opening the certificate of deposit.

To take advantage of this promotional CD offer you must use Offer Code D120336. The $25 bonus offer is valid until December 15, 2009. There is a limit of one offer per person. The funds have to stay in the certificate of deposit account for at least 90 days to receive the bonus.

Discover Bank also offers very competitive CD rates and yields which makes the bonus offer appealing. The bank is currently offering a 12 month CD rate of 1.88 percent and an annual percentage yield (APY) of 1.90 percent. Their 24 month CD rate is 2.23 percent and the APY is 2.25 percent.

Discover Bank $25 Promotional Bonus offer: Discover $25 Bonus here

Related: Best CD Rates in New York

Beside the current low mortgage rates, you now have another incentive to buy a home. The Senate has voted to expand and extend the first time home-buyer tax credit that was due to expire at the end November 2009. The House is expected to vote and pass it later today.

For first time home-buyers which includes anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the past three years, the $8,000 tax credit has been extended to April 30, 2010. You have to sign a sales contract by April 30 and close on the home by June 30, 2010.

Looking for today’s mortgage rates? The best mortgage interest rates can be found in your state by using our mortgage rate tables: Best Mortgage Rates

The credit has been expanded to include a $6,500 tax credit for home-buyers who have owned their home for at least five years. The tax credit is only for a home purchase that will be your primary home and costs $800,000 or less.

The credit is also phased out for individuals with annual incomes above $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes above $225,000. If you’re in the military serving outside the United States for at least 90 days, the tax credit is extended for another year.

Freddie Mac released a report showing one half of borrowers who refinanced their conventinal mortgage in the 3rd quarter lowered the mortgage rate they were paying by 1.1 percent on average.

The collective dollar amount saved in the first 12 months of interest payment expenses by the home owners who refinanced their mortgages was $3 billion.

Looking for mortgage refinance rates? The best mortgage refinance rates can be found in your state by using our mortgage rate tables: Current Mortgage Refinance Rates

In the beginning of 2009 only borrowers who had enough equity in their homes were able to refinance but that changed for many borrowers who had their home loans owed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.

A program called The Home Ownership Affordability Refinance Program which started in April 2009 allows homeowners who have a loan owed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae to refinance their loans even if they have no home equity.

As of August 31, 2009, 93,000 homeowners have taken advantage of the program and refinanced their loan with most of the refinancing taking place in July and August according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Freddie Mac’s Refinance report also showed 64 percent of borrowers who refinanced a conventional  first-lien mortgage either kept about the same principal balance or reduced it. Borrowers are also refinancing loans without taking equity out, a big change from the past several years when the main reason people refinanced was to take money out.

Mortgage refinance rates are still very low so if you haven’t refinanced your mortgage yet, you should take advantage while interest rates are still low. You can use a mortgage calculator to figure out if refinancing makes sense for you. A general guideline is that the new mortgage rate should be at least one percent lower than your existing mortgage rate.

If you have an adjustable mortgage rate that will reset in the near future, you should probably refinance even if current mortgage rates are not one percent lower. Mortgage interest rates will head higher in the coming year, mainly because the recession is all but over and the Federal Market Open Committee will raise interest rates to keep inflation in check.

The Feds actions will drive mortgage rates higher, so take advantage of these low rates while you can. A possitive note about the Fed increasing rates is that will drive bank deposit rates higher, including CD rates and savings account rates.

The current national average rate for a two year certificate of deposit is 1.61 percent this week. You can find CD rates and yields higher than the national average rates. Discover Bank is offering a two year certificate of deposit rate of 2.33 percent and an annual percentage yield (APY) of 2.35 percent.

MetLife Bank is also offering a two year certificate of deposit that has an APY of 2.35 percent. Capital One Direct Banking is offering an APY of 2.30 percent for a two year certificate of deposit.

Here is a list of the top two year certificate of deposit yields.

1. MetLife Bank 2.35% APY
2. Discover Bank 2.35% APY
3. Capital One Bank 2.30% APY
4. AIG Bank 2.26% APY
5. Ally Bank 2.25% APY
6. E-Loan.com 2.20% APY
7. Nationwide Bank 2.20% APY
8. First Internet Bank of IN 2.15% APY
9. GiantBank.com 2.11% APY
10. EverBank 2.10 APY
11. Tennessee Commerce Bank 2.05% APY

The following banks are offering two year certificate of deposits that have an APY of 2.00%.  Bank of America, Citibank, Bank of Internet USA, EmigrantDirect.com and Georgia Bank & Trust.

Find the highest CD rates in your zip code by searching our CD rate tables here. Find the highest CD Rates

New home sales dropped 3.6 percent in September in a report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Sales of new one family houses in September 2009 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 402,000, 3.6 percent below August rate of 417,000 new homes sales.

402,000 new homes is also 7.8 percent lower than the September 2008 estimate of 436,000 new home sales. The median sales price of new homes sold in September 2009 was $204,000 and the average sales price was $282,600.

The supply of new homes for sale at the end of September was 251,000 homes, a 36.5% decline over September 2008 when the supply of new homes was at 395,000. The number of new homes for sale is getting back to a more historical norm,  the current supply of new homes would take 7.5 months to sell at the current sales pace. In January of 2009 the supply of new homes for sale would take 12.4 months to sell.

The overall supply of homes for sale will increase when the first time home buyer tax credit ends on November 30, 2009. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is lobbying hard for an extension and an expansion of the credit.

Between the tax credit expiring and the Federal Reserve announcing it was going to complete the purchase of $1.25 trillion in mortgage backed securities in the first quarter of 201o this year’s winter housing market is expected to be bleak.

On the positive side is homes are more affordable than they have been for several years and today’s mortgage rates are still hovering near record lows. Home prices aren’t expected to jump anytime soon but current mortgage rates will probably be higher once the Fed as stopped purchasing mortgage backed securities. If you’re planning on purchasing a home or refinancing your mortgage now is a good time to act.