The August Group Inc. is your source for dependable Real Estate Appraisals in Saint Louis City and the following counties in Missouri; St. Louis, Franklin, Jefferson, Warren, Lincoln, St. Charles and St. Francois.Whether it's an older home or luxurious new construction, Jeffrey Noyes' experience and hours of study as licensed appraiser make him qualified to provide home valuations in Saint Louis City, St. Louis, Franklin, Jefferson, Warren, Lincoln, St. Charles and St. Francois County for clients ranging from national mortgage companies to local lenders or individual businesses and consumers.
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
||
| Highest Rates in a Week But There"s a Catch | ||
| 4/21/2026 1:49 PM | ||
| Technically and officially, today"s average top tier 30yr fixed mortgage rate is the highest since last Monday. The catch is that there hasn"t been much movement since then with the overall range being limited to 0.04%. Today"s jump was the largest upward movement during that time. There was some upward pressure on rates from stronger employ...Read More | ||
| VOA, Processing, DPA, Non-QM, Broker Products; Lender 2025 Volume Rankings; Attorneys and Legal Risk | ||
| 4/21/2026 10:46 AM | ||
| Wholesale and Correspondent Product and Corporate News Homebridge Financial Services, Inc., one of the nation’s largest privately held non-bank mortgage lenders, has officially signed an agreement to merge with an affiliate of Saluda Grade, a premier independent alternative investment firm (founded in 2019 with approximately $4.4 billion in asset...Read More | ||
| Barely Weaker After Weekly ADP Data (Not Retail Sales) | ||
| 4/21/2026 8:03 AM | ||
| Heading into the day, the 8:30am Retail Sales data was the obvious pick among the available economic reports to be a potential market mover. Reality had other ideas... weird ones. After months and months without any major reaction, this morning"s weekly ADP employment finally made its presence felt, even if only by the smallest of margins. Retail S...Read More | ||
| Bonds Only Modestly Weaker After New Escalation Over The Weekend | ||
| 4/20/2026 3:24 PM | ||
| Bonds Only Modestly Weaker After New Escalation Over The Weekend Bonds/oil/stocks saw a small corrective bounce over the weekend after headlines called the peace process into question, but markets agree we"re close enough to "on track" to avoid a major correction. Over the course of the day, bonds returned ...Read More | ||
| Mortgage Rates Almost Perfectly Flat to Start New Week | ||
| 4/20/2026 2:21 PM | ||
| Despite some initial signs of volatility in financial markets over the weekend, the bond market managed to avoid losing much ground. Because bonds dictate mortgage rate movement, the average lender remained very close to Friday"s latest levels. MND"s rate index (a measure of top-tier 30yr fixed rates) rose by 0.01% which is the smallest incr...Read More | ||
| Best-ex, AI, Servicing, Borrower Acquisition Tools; HELOC, Non-QM, Client Funnel Products; Markets on Hold? | ||
| 4/20/2026 10:47 AM | ||
| War in the Middle East made oil prices go up, higher oil prices hurt world economies and stock markets because prices and inflation go up, and higher inflation leads to higher interest rates. At least, that’s the way it usually works, as does the opposite. Last week stock markets surged as pivotal geopolitical development reshaped investor sentimen...Read More | ||
| Bonds Only Modestly Weaker After New Escalation Over The Weekend | ||
| 4/20/2026 8:34 AM | ||
| Heading into the weekend, all indications were about as promising as they have been that the war was heading toward a peaceful conclusion. This was reflected in oil prices and Treasury yields being at multi-week lows (and stocks at all-time highs). But over the weekend, the U.S. fired on and seized an Iranian ship, and Iran said it was cancelling p...Read More | ||
| AM Gains Mostly Stick Around | ||
| 4/17/2026 3:29 PM | ||
| AM Gains Mostly Stick Around Everything interesting about today occurred before 9am ET (several war-related headlines that prompted a sharp rally in bonds). The rest of the day was spent drifting mostly sideways. Stocks continued their surge to new all-time highs. Oil prices fell in concert with the bond ra...Read More | ||
| Lowest Rates in Over a Month Despite Small Move Today | ||
| 4/17/2026 3:06 PM | ||
| Today was a victory for mortgage rates, but not nearly as much of a victory as the underlying bond market would suggest. The good news is that the end result is the lowest average 30yr fixed rate in just over a month. The other news isn"t bad, per se, but it is a bit confusing. As we often discuss, mortgage rates are based on bonds be...Read More | ||
| Builder Sentiment Drops to Seven-Month Low in April | ||
| 4/17/2026 1:17 PM | ||
| Builder confidence fell sharply in April as rising costs and economic uncertainty weighed on sentiment heading into the spring buying season. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) dropped four points to 34 , its lowest level since September 2025. The decline marks a notable setback after modest ga...Read More | ||