Definition of "Effective Rate"

The interest rate adjusted for intra-year compounding. Because interest on a mortgage is calculated monthly, a 6% mortgage actually has a rate of .5% per month. If there were no principal repayments the first year, $100 invested in a 6% mortgage would actually earn $6.17 of interest during the year because of reinvestment of monthly interest. The 'effective rate' is thus 6.17%, while 6% is termed the 'nominal' rate. Similarly, a 6% bond on which interest is paid quarterly has an effective rate of 6.14%.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Mortgage Terms

After reaching a certain annual income, you might be interested in finding the definition of a jumbo mortgage.  What is a jumbo loan?  It is something like a mortgage with ...

A mortgage loan for 125% of property value. Since such loans are only partly secured, they have many of the characteristics of unsecured loans, including relatively high interest rates. ...

A comprehensive and time-adjusted measure of loan cost to the borrower. IC on a Mortgage: IC is what economists call an 'internal rate or return.' It takes account of all payments made by ...

A borrower who doesn't pay. ...

The amount invested in a house, equal to the sale price less the loan amount. The House Investment Decision: Lenders impose the upper limit on how much a household can spend for a house. ...

Advice on where to go to get a mortgage. A borrower can always select a loan provider by throwing a dart at the Yellow Pages. A referral is of value if it raises the probability of a ...

A payment made after the grace period stipulated in the note, usually 10-15 days. ...

The amount the borrower owes at maturity. ...

One of many interest rate indexes used to determine interest rate adjustments on an adjustable rate mortgage. ...

Popular Mortgage Questions