A 10.01 percent down payment on a jumbo home loan with no private mortgage insurance required – sound far-fetched for your clients?  Not if they’re doctors who completed their residency within the last three years or medical school residents

By Peter Ricci The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is a sweeping piece of legislation, a 2,300-page document that attempts to encompass nearly every facet of the financial sector. Originally passed in the summer of 2010,

The promise of leads can lure an agent from one brokerage to another, but to compare leads per month from one brokerage to the next can be tricky; different brokerages use different lead systems and distribute leads to agents

By Ken Robbins Lead Gen. CPA. CPL. Per Inquiry. Performance marketing. Affiliate marketing. Co-Reg. These are all terms that describe pay-for-performance marketing relationships — where you pay third party companies for each lead they send you. They drive significant

By Nicole Etter Knowing how to use the tools a brokerage provides is “so important,” says Scott Curcio of Coldwell Banker. Not taking advantage of this can mean agents are missing out on lead generation tools that provide quality

Nicole Fabiano Founder and Lead Negotiator, Home Solutions, Inc., A Full Service Short Sale Company Do you see the amount of REOs/foreclosures increasing, decreasing or stabilizing in 2012? Increasing. Defaults are still happening at all-time highs, and until shadow inventory

Paul Martis Co-Chair MORe Commercial Investment Committee, Broker, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage What issues should agents focus on the most in 2012? How will MORe help them do this? Technology and their CORE – competencies, organization, resources and evaluation. MORe

Steve Stapleton Senior Vice President, Mortgage Services III What loans do you think will be most popular next year? How will FHA change in popularity? FHA will continue to be a viable option for many homebuyers and refinancers. Although rates

Janet Owen Agent, Prudential Rubloff Do you think the inventory of luxury properties on the market will increase, decrease or stay the same? Our inventory and absorption rate in the luxury market has improved significantly over last year. As the

Dan McLean President, MCL Companies What financing options should developers offer? Financing has not been as much a problem as people’s attitude to when values are going to increase. What should developers focus on to strengthen their businesses next year? They

Bobbie O’Reilly Broker/Owner, Weichert, Realtors-McKee Real Estate Do you think homebuyer confidence will increase, decrease or stay the same? Homebuyer confidence will probably stay the same. I firmly believe that until the election of November 2012 occurs, confidence in the

Tony Saviano Broker/Owner, Realty Executives Experts, Hoffman Estates Will your business increase, decrease or keep at the same pace next year? My business will increase because I will be doing more consistent prospecting. What should agents focus on to build

Liz Brooks Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Belgravia Group What indicators are you watching to keep up with the market and its changes as we move into next year? The same indicators we all have been watching for the

Geri McCafferty Realtor/Associate, Brush Hill Realtors How do you think the ratio of renters to buyers will change next year? I think we will still have more renters than buyers next year. Many renters have sold their homes and are

Jason Palermo Broker/Owner, RE/MAX Vision 212 Will your business increase, decrease or keep at the same pace next year? Why? We had a great year, and based on the fourth quarter in 2011, our 2012 should increase by 20 percent.

Bob Floss Bob Floss & Son Realty, President, Chicago Association of Realtors What issues should agents focus the most on in 2012? How will CAR help them do this? In the new year, agents should focus on profitability and professionalism.