| |
| |
| @thecltmortgageguy |
Vol 1 · Iss 21 · August 14, 2026 |
| |
| The Weekly |
| |
| THE WEEKLY WRAP |
| |
| Rates. Market intel. What it means for you. |
| |
|
| |
| |
| Welcome Back |
| |
| The Agents Pulling Ahead Are Working Smarter, Not Harder. |
| |
| We all want to be the agent who looks effortless in front of clients. But most of us assume that means putting in more hours. And that matters because while you are grinding through busywork, the agents pulling ahead are leaning on tools that turn an afternoon of it into a ten minute task. |
| |
| That edge is quietly becoming the difference between the agent who looks buried and the one who looks in control. And this week it stacks with something else: rates eased for the first time in over a month, giving your buyers on the fence a fresh reason to pick the phone back up. |
| |
| Better tools and a better market at the same time is a real window. The agents who move on it now are the ones who own the back half of this year. |
| |
| |
| |
| Market Update |
| |
| Soft Inflation Reports Turned the Week Around. |
| |
| 30-yr Fixed |
| |
| 6.67% |
| |
| ↓ Down from 6.69% |
|
| Rate Direction |
| |
| Down |
| |
| Cooler inflation data |
|
|
| |
| Rates came into the week under pressure, sitting near the top of the range we have watched all summer, with the benchmark interest rate that mortgages track pushing toward 4.70 percent early on. Then the mood flipped. Wednesday's consumer inflation report came in softer than expected, and Thursday's report on the prices producers pay did the same. Mortgage bonds rallied both days, the benchmark rate eased back toward 4.62 percent, and it added up to the strongest week for bonds we have seen in a while. |
| |
| The reason was simple. Both inflation readings landed below what the market expected, which eased worries that rising oil prices and overseas tension were about to reignite inflation. That gave the Fed more room to sit and wait, and it pulled the benchmark rate lower off its recent highs. When those rates fall, mortgage pricing tends to improve, and that is exactly what we saw play out day after day this week. |
| |
| Friday morning added one more wrinkle. Retail sales fell more than expected, a sign the consumer may finally be slowing after carrying this economy for the better part of two years. One report does not make a trend, but paired with last week's soft jobs number, it suggests the economy is losing a little momentum. For buyers who have been waiting, that mix is encouraging, though the market will want more proof before rates make a sustained move lower. Oil near 80 dollars a barrel and the tension around the Strait of Hormuz are the wild cards worth watching from here. |
| |
| |
| |
| This Tuesday · Noon ET |
| |
| AI for Agents: The Tools Worth Using Right Now. |
| |
| Artificial intelligence has gone from a buzzword to a daily tool, and the agents who learn it now are the ones who will look effortless a year from now. This Tuesday we are walking through the four names you keep hearing, Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Moonshot, and cutting through the noise on each one. We will look at what each does best, the standout feature that sets it apart, and the real ways they save you time on listing copy, market updates, client emails, and the everyday marketing that usually eats your afternoon. You do not need to be technical and you do not need to use all four. You just need to know which tool to reach for and when, and that is exactly what we will cover live. |
| |
| Drop in Tuesday at noon. No booking needed. Zoom link at linktr.ee/thecltmortgageguy. Bring the marketing task you dread most and we will find the tool that handles it. Have a topic for a future call? Just reply to this email. |
| |
| |
| |
| See you Tuesday. For daily rate updates follow @thecltmortgageguy on Instagram. |
| |
| Book a consult or grab the Zoom link at linktr.ee/thecltmortgageguy. |
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| Ian Smith · VP of Lending · Rate · [email protected] · linktr.ee/thecltmortgageguy · @thecltmortgageguy · NMLS #1465241 · Equal Housing Lender |
| |
| © 2026 Guaranteed Rate, Inc. D/B/A Rate | NMLS ID 2611 |
| |
| |