It’s been a wild ride in the mortgage lending industry over the past few years, and while the refi boom has slowed from where it was 12 months ago, the roller coaster continues with record home sales.

We spoke with some of the top loan officers in the Chicagoland market this month and learned that the new normal in mortgage lending provides new opportunities. Joel Schaub, vice president of mortgage lending at Guaranteed Rate, tells Chicago Agent that brokers should focus on education rather than stoking fear that their clients are going to miss out on low interest rates if they don’t act quickly. It’s one of the many strategies lenders can use moving forward to build stronger relationships with clients, he and others in the industry tell us.

We also focus this month on a topic that is top of mind for many young homebuyers and should be for brokers — that’s the issue of global warming. This month’s Real Issues feature includes insight from Emmy Award-winning science writer and CBS News Sunday Morning correspondent David Pogue. He discusses the impact climate change is having on real estate and what that might mean for Chicagoland real estate, as well as the rest of the country.

In this month’s issue also, we also hear from Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® on the work the group is doing in advocacy, community work and volunteering. We also get back to basics with Marki Lemons-Ryhal in this month’s Top Coach column on the value of mastering your CRM.

Of course, we always want to hear your feedback on our coverage. Drop us a line and let us know how we’re doing at Tim.Inklebarger@agentpublishing.com.