Mortgage
As a real estate industry change agent, Jeff Corbett certainly ranks high on the mortgage list. His blog, The XBroker, is a quality diatribe that weaves a clear picture of the confusion and chaos that exists within the mortgage industry and its relationship with the consumer.
Good change agents have an edge to them, typically a sharp edge. Exceptional change agents have a sharp, well informed and analytical edge to them that will cut ones mind open so that it soaks in the message of transformational change. Jeff is a sharp, well informed, analytical agent of change. He is on the march against predatory lending and other kinds of mortgage lending practices that have contributed to a large degree to the current financial state of the union.
ENTER “RATESPEED“
Jeff wants transparency in all things related to mortgage. When we spoke recently, we briefly discussed our respective efforts within the industry but digressed almost immediately to his “RateSpeed” widget for the mortgage industry.
As is usually the case within our industry, disclosure is at the core of RateSpeed. The RateSpeed widget spews out mortgage pricing analysis and its resultant solutions are the kind of transparency that sets the consumer at ease with a sense of “complete” knowledge about the financial ramifications of a mortgage commitment.
Although the RE industry and its biological twin, the mortgage wing, need a dose of RateSpeed widgetry, what we need more than widgets, good as they are, is a dose of the mentality and leadership behind the widgets. Jeff’s widget stems from a mental image of what the mortgage industry’s business model should look like, what it can deliver to the customers in this, our Third Economic Wave, the Consumer-Centric Era.
To REALonomics, RateSpeed is not a widget…the widget is the expression of a kind of business model…of course, that’s what REALonomics thinks about day and night…MODELS.
Behind Jeff Corbett’s RateSpeed widget is a business blueprint and behind the blueprint is a design that delivers a solution to the industry and the consumer. BRAVO!
ENTER “RATESPEED RESISTANCE“
REALonomics admittedly knows less about the fundamental practices of the mortgage industry than it does those of the real estate brokerage industry. But there is an initial and fundamental response to our mutual calls for transformation and transparency…resistance.
Moving from corporate hierarchy models to cooperative and collaborative platforms that embrace complete disclosure will always be met with initial skeptical cynicism and resistance. Nevertheless, the Jeff Corbett’s of this industry are to be recognized for thrusting their widgets into our faces, forcing us to think about transforming a now very sick industry into a new, vibrant and fully fluid, consumer-centric delivery model that our clients love…yes, “LOVE” is what I said.
REALonomics applauds Jeff and all of the rest of the Jeff-like transformers who are inching us forward in our “Qwest for Model Perfect.”
Try RateSpeed. Visit The XBroker.
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When the stock market took a nose dive, real estate brought growth.
When the economy did poorly, real estate introduced wealth.
When 911 all but destroyed our faith, real estate restored the American Dream.
In many occasions, and in many years, real estate has been the rock to depend, or in some cases even the rocket to ride to riches. But times have changed and the bright years of 2000-2005 have become a dull memory.
It’s not really that real estate itself crashed and burned, but that with new construction out of control, speculation spiraling and lending becoming irresponsible, the burden real estate had to carry became to heavy and the first nail in the coffin ground what was a good thing, to a halt.
Collapsing financial institutions led to immense write offs, allegations and actions of improper conduct led to finger pointing and investigations that in turn led to layoffs and disaster.
With unemployment steadily rising and home prices in a constant month by month decline, the real estate market is brittle and cautiously teetering on which way to go.
With the unprecedented rally of crude oil tethering at $150, and now two government-sponsored entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac possibly requiring government bailout. The pair guarantee around $5 trillion worth of mortgages – that’s almost half of the $9.5 trillion debt of the United States. I think we have just witnessed the second nail being hammered into the heart of real estate. Not good at all.
Let’s pray and hope that we don’t have a third nail – a major terrorist attack on local soil in the foreseeable future. Barring the above, the road to real estate recovery is going to be a slow and bumpy one. Most likely it may only pick up momentum during or after 2010 – especially for areas such as Florida, California and Las Vegas.
So for those of us that earn our daily bread from real estate my message is a simple one: Batten down the hatches, expand your horizons, re-engineer your company, automate your business, market more online – yes, maximize every opportunity. Survive the years 2006-2010 and come out the other side with an automated, more efficient, new paradigm, consumer focused real estate model and you may very well find yourself in the front row to become the Amazon, EBay or Google of real estate.
This post is also posted in Inman Community under the title: Three Gold Stars and Two Rusty Nails.
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Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has outlined the Bush blueprint that proposes revamping the regulation of the nations financial oversight. Is this plan beneficial to the real estate, mortgage and title industries? Furthermore, how will this impact Wall Street, if at all?
Watch the Paulson video here.
This report states that our national equity value has flipped to the negative. For the first time in history we owe more on a national basis than our homes are collectively worth.
For too long, the real estate brokerage, mortgage and title industries have adopted a “let’s not say anything negative” approach to the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression. REALonomics thinks this passive position has been a huge mistake on the part of the industry and indeed, may have kept us from aggressively pursuing solutions within our industry.
Our “recession” call is not predicated on the old GDP decline rule (2 down quarters = recession). We believe we have entered a powerful global economy where the connectivity of markets, east and west, have re-written the old assumptions and rules, creating international definitions, rather than just national definitions of recession.
