The real estate blog.

The real estate downturn has hit employees of the industry very hard. During the boom years everybody wanted to be a real estate agent and the numbers in those ranks soared. Now that the easy money is gone, so are the new agents. It’s probably good for everyone involved.

Mortgage brokers are facing a similar dilemma. Not only has demand decreased, but so have offerings. I used to receive half a dozen rate sheets in my email each day. Now I receive one. Many wholesale lenders have gone out of business, while others have eliminated their wholesale broker divisions entirely.

Regardless, the housing crisis has triggered a huge shift in the industry’s dynamics. Big banks, such as Bank of America Corp. and National City Corp., have stopped making loans through brokers entirely,

relying instead on their loan officers. National City said it was forced to do so by a continuing downturn in loan demand, while Bank of America said it saw better “long-term opportunity” in working through its own loan officers.

I’ve seen reports saying broker originated business is defaulting at a rate of 20%. Lenders typically factor a default rate of 5% into their rates. On top of that, a housing downturn and a credit crunch are reducing the pool of borrowers available even nine months ago.

Mortgage brokers are having to adapt to this new environment. Some that have been in the business pre-boom are consolidating and hunkering down. Others are shutting their doors and finding work in a different profession. Others still are going to work directly for lenders in their retail divisions.

Count me in that third group. Effective April 1, I’m going to work for a national FHA/VA lender with its own marketing department. I will no longer need to blog for business. With Utah’s licensing requirements, I can’t originate loans my new employer is unable to originate on the side.

You may have noticed some changes around here. The contact information is gone. I won’t be soliciting business. But I will still blog. I love real estate and I love writing. Over time this site has blossomed on the search engines and is now providing a decent ancillary income through advertising. Without the constraints of seeking business and representing a company, I can speak freer about what’s going on. Having my head fully immersed in real estate on a daily basis, I’ll be able to provide a better perspective.

Over the past two weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about how to proceed. I could quit blogging all together, or I could try and sell this site to another local company. I also considered restarting the nationally focused real estate blog I started last fall. The fact is this site ranks so well on the search engines, I’d be starting all over from scratch with another blog. I don’t want to do that. It’s better for me to expand the focus than to restart. The Salt Lake Real Estate Blog has just gotten bigger!

One of the things I’ve noticed is people who contact me tend to be from out of state. They find this site on the search engines when they look to move to Utah. As such, I’ve left a contact form and I’m happy to refer a lender and a real estate agent should you need such services. The same applies to locals as well.

Additionally, I plan to expand the advertising opportunities on this site. This is a geo-targeted site with lots of strong search engine positioning. Please contact me for a menu of inexpensive advertising options.

Besides death and taxes, the thing we can be absolutely sure of in this life is things will change. How you deal with change can really impact your quality of life. Since joining the mortgage industry in 2003, I’ve only worked for one company. I’d like to thank Byron Goates at Integrity First Financial for five great years. Byron gave me my start and has provided countless advice and help on many real estate issues. He even guest posts here from time to time and probably still will.

Get ready for the new and improved Salt Lake real estate blog, coming very soon.