A new Campbell Communications survey of real estate agents and brokers released this week indicates that the mortgage capture rates of most real estate firm-lender partnerships is surprisingly low.

Sponsored by Inside Mortgage Finance, the study shows that while many mortgage lenders have established strategic partnerships with real estate brokerage firms, by placing loan officers in real estate brokerage offices, the capture rates are only between 19 and 29 percent, suggests Tom Popik, a principal of Geosegment Systems, the design firm for the survey.

"These capture rates are virtually the same regardless of whether the mortgage partner has special access -- such as a loan officer located in the real estate office and attendance at internal company meetings," Popik noted.

The new report, "How Real Estate Agents View Relationships with Mortgage Providers," conducted in May, drew over 1,700 responses from agents and brokers. It reveals that real estate agents appear to be losing influence -- albeit slowly -- with home purchasers on whom they select as a mortgage lender. In fact, the statistics generated by the survey indicate that real estate agents currently control or influence the choice of mortgage provider in less than 40 percent of home purchase transactions.

The most noteworthy findings in the new study were related to real estate firm/lender partnerships and how these ventures are structured. For example, a very healthy 63 percent of responding real estate agents said their firms partnered with one or more mortgage providers. But at least 16 percent of these arrangements were classified as informal.

Of the real estate firms involved with partnerships, 71 percent reported the arrangement was exclusive with just one mortgage provider. The balance involved partnerships with two or more mortgage providers.

One of the most surprising findings of the new survey was that relatively few real estate agents with mortgage partnerships -- even those with exclusive arrangements -- recommend just one lender to home purchasers. At firms with exclusive partnerships, 78 percent of responding real estate agents said they recommended multiple mortgage providers to homebuyers.

When the survey delved deeper, real estate agents indicated that a mortgage partnership was not a primary consideration in recommending a mortgage lender. They cited "good service" and "dependable with closing dates" as among the most important factors in recommending a mortgage provider.

Importantly, "partnership with my firm" received one of the lowest ratings of the 24 factors covered in the survey.

"The survey results give lenders a roadmap for avoiding many of the pitfalls associated with dealing with real estate agents," said John Campbell of Campbell Communications. "They also include recommendations on how lenders can increase the capture rate found in partnerships."

For information on how to obtain the full report, "How Real Estate Agents View Relationships with Mortgage Providers," contact John Campbell at (202) 363-2069 or john@campbellsurveys.com.

Published: July 20, 2005

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.