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Overview Due to severe storms in Iowa, FEMA has declared the following counties a disaster. Additional FEMA declared counties are shown in bold. Incident Period:August 10, 2020  State FEMA Disaster Declaration Counties Iowa August 17, 2020 Benton, Boone, Cedar, Clinton, Jasper, Linn, Marshall, Polk, Poweshiek, Scott, Story, and Tama Please note: If an appraisal was […]

Overview Due to Hurricane Sally in Florida, FEMA has declared the following counties a disaster. Incident Period: September 14, 2020 and continuing State FEMA Disaster Declaration Counties Florida September 23, 2020 Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton Please note: If an appraisal was completed prior to the incident date of the disaster, a re-inspection […]

Last Week in Review: Markets Enter the Great Unknown COVID-19 Hits the White House Last Friday morning, President Trump and the First Lady tested positive for COVID-19. The news shocked the financial markets around the globe, with global Stocks declining in response to the uncertainty. The news adds the potential for large market swings as […]

Overview The Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC (CMS) Lock Desk will be closed Monday, October 12, 2020 in observance of Columbus Day, which is a Federal Holiday. Normal Lock Desk hours will resume on Tuesday, October 13, 2020.  Please note: CMS offices will be open for normal business hours on Monday, October 12, 2020; however, the […]

Last Week in Review: Uncertainty Takes Over the Markets Fiscal Stimulus Fiscal stimulus refers to policy measures undertaken by a government that typically reduce taxes or regulations and increase government spending in order to boost economic activity. This past week, both Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin called for more “fiscal stimulus” to help […]

Last Week in Review: The Fed Spoke, the Markets Reacted Last Wednesday, the Federal Reserve issued its Monetary Policy Statement and held a press conference. An unofficial mandate for the Fed is to maintain "market calm" and not say anything to roil either Stocks or Bonds. Overall, the Fed statement and press conference were extremely […]

The Last Week in Review: Good, Bad, and Ugly Before the Fed The Good Last week, home loan rates hit all-time low levels despite progress and optimism on a vaccine, the economy, and the job market. A continued tailwind for relatively low rates comes from the Eurozone, where their central bank, the ECB, left rates […]

This past week, the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium took place. This annual event which started back in 1981 is attended by central bankers, finance ministers, and other officials from around the globe, to discuss and deliver speeches on important economic issues facing worldwide economies. History has shown this event to deliver market-moving comments and major […]

Last Week in Review: New Home Prices to Climb this Fall No Progress From Congress This week we watched rates modestly improve as uncertainty climbed. The main culprit is the ongoing “debate” in Congress on what a fourth stimulus bill will look like. History has shown that Congress will likely get something done, things will just […]

Last Week in Review: The Return of Inflation and Opportunity “Inflation is when you pay fifteen dollars for the ten-dollar haircut you used to get for five dollars when you had hair.”— Sam Ewing This past week, home loan rates ticked up from the best levels ever, and the 10-year Note yield moved sharply higher […]