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| @thecltmortgageguy |
Vol 1 · Iss 22 · August 21, 2026 |
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| The Weekly |
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| THE WEEKLY WRAP |
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| Rates. Market intel. What it means for you. |
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| Welcome Back |
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| A Noisy Week Is Where Good Agents Win. |
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| It was a week of push and pull. The market caught a break midweek, then spent the back half taking it right back, and every headline seemed to argue with the one before it. For a buyer sitting on the fence, that kind of noise turns into one more reason to wait. That is exactly where you come in. The agents who can cut through the static and give a buyer a straight, calm answer are the ones who keep deals alive while everyone else stalls out waiting for a clear sky that may never show up. |
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| Behind the Scenes |
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| Saturday I am spending nine hours in an AI class, learning how to work smarter so I can bring you sharper tools, faster answers, and more value going forward. Consider this the start. A lot more is on the way. |
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| Market Update |
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| Rates Dipped, Then Started Taking It Back. |
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| 30-yr Fixed |
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| 6.65% |
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| ↓ Down from 6.67% |
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| Rate Direction |
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| Up |
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| Rally is fading |
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| Rates spent the week on a roller coaster. Coming in, the same pressure that has hung over the market all summer was still there, with the government borrowing at a record pace and not enough buyers to soak it all up. Then on Wednesday the Treasury stepped in and announced it would buy back more of its longer-term debt, which eased the strain and pulled rates lower for a moment. |
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| The relief did not stick. By Thursday, investors were already handing back the gains and circling right back to the same worries that started the week, heavy government borrowing and inflation that refuses to fully cool. Mortgage bonds lost ground, and the benchmark interest rate that mortgages track climbed back toward the top of its recent range. |
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| Here is the honest read for your buyers. The dip in the weekly average was real, but it leaned on a one-time move from the Treasury more than any real change in the market's mood. Until investors get more comfortable with the bigger picture, these small wins stay fragile and can flip fast. A buyer who is ready and paying attention can still lock in a good day, but sitting around waiting for rates to fall in a straight line is a bet the market has not earned. |
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| This Tuesday · Noon ET |
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| The House Nobody Wants Might Be Your Next Sale. |
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| Some of the best deals on the market are the homes that scare buyers off, the dated kitchen, the water stain on the ceiling, the listing that has sat for weeks because nobody wants to take on the work. Renovation and construction loans solve that. They let a buyer roll the purchase and the improvements into one loan, so they can buy the house and fix it up without draining savings or juggling a second loan. This Tuesday we will break down how these loans actually work, where a renovation loan ends and ground up construction begins, what kinds of projects qualify, and how you can use them to move a stale listing or win over a buyer who thinks their dream home is out of reach. |
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| This one is not just for retail buyers. A lot of your investor clients live in this exact space, buying rundown properties to fix and resell, or building from the ground up. We will spend time on the investor side too, from renovation loans that fund a flip to construction loans for a new build, so you can bring your investors a real financing plan and be the agent they call first on their next project. |
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| Drop in Tuesday at noon. No booking needed. Zoom link at linktr.ee/thecltmortgageguy. Bring the listing that has been sitting and let's put it back in play. Have a topic for a future call? Just reply to this email. |
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| See you Tuesday. For daily rate updates follow @thecltmortgageguy on Instagram. |
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| Book a consult or grab the Zoom link at linktr.ee/thecltmortgageguy. |
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| Ian Smith · VP of Lending · Rate · [email protected] · linktr.ee/thecltmortgageguy · @thecltmortgageguy · NMLS #1465241 · Equal Housing Lender |
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| © 2026 Guaranteed Rate, Inc. D/B/A Rate | NMLS ID 2611 |
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