RISMEDIA, December 18, 2006—In spite of bleak forecasts on the part of some industry watchers, South Florida’s real estate market is relatively stable, making this a good time to buy according to the latest survey released by the Realtor® Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale (RAGFL).

RAGFL’s November sales figures reveal inventory remains at a healthy level, but the time homes spent on the market before selling kept pace with October’s decline, making South Florida residential real estate competitive for both buyers and sellers alike. Time on market for both single family homes and condo-townhomes show no change from October to November in sales closed between 30 to 121+ days. Meanwhile, available single family home inventory remained constant - 10,794 last month compared with 10,783 in October (0% change). The total number of single family homes sold also reflected no change, with 668 sales last month and 670 the month prior.

Most real estate brokerages believe their training programs for new agents are effective and successful. But how effectual are they, really? In this market of change—where newbies go sometimes two to three months before getting their first listing—new sales associates need a program that’s designed for the market now, not two years ago. Here, Clark Toole, regional president and chief operating officer of NRT’s Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage-Dallas/Fort Worth operation, talks about the decision to reinvent his company’s training program and the impact it’s made on newer—and more-seasoned—sales associates alike.

RISMEDIA, December 18, 2006—One of the biggest challenges we see in many underperforming in-house mortgage operations is a lack of quality people and/or overcompensated individuals who care more about their personal returns than the companies they support.

Without a great manager on board, the operation will always function with a severe handicap: recruiting quality loan officers will be difficult, leadership will be limited, integration with your office managers becomes more difficult, training and coaching are often ineffective, and the accountabilities noted above are unmanaged.

The following are some key best practices to implement within your operation:

A local developer’s application to purchase 1,700 acres of land targeted by Scottsdale for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve threatens the city’s vision for a 36,400-acre swath of public open space.

Tempe-based Suncor Development Co. recently submitted an application to the State Land Department to purchase the land northeast of Happy Valley Road.

The land is currently used as northern trail heads, and it is planned to be a major access area to the preserve.