RISMEDIA, Jan. 10, 2007-They make it sound easy, but Hawaii Brokers Steve Hogin and Rosie Poree-Hogin say being fair and upfront with agents-and giving everyone a say in important decisions about the company-are the reasons why agents come to their company and “stay forever.” But there is much more than the beautiful Hawaiian weather keeping their loyal team dedicated to the task. Here, some informative Q&As with top brokers around the country on recruiting, training and motivating agents, and much more.

Private-label, subprime mortgage originators will have a more difficult time selling Wall Street investors risky loans in 2007, experts say, even as they face tougher underwriting and disclosure standards from regulators.

But don’t expect “exotic” loans to become extinct as the mortgage lending industry copes with slackening demand for all types of loans through layoffs, consolidation and modernization.

The Mortgage Bankers Association projects home loan originations will fall 11 percent this year, to $2.21 trillion, followed by an additional 7.4 percent decline to $2.05 trillion in 2008. By comparison, lenders funded $3.03 trillion in mortgage loans in 2005, the second-highest year on record, and an estimated $2.48 trillion in 2006.

Areas with change in median home price affected

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced new loan limits for FHA-backed loans in 2007 for homes of one to four units.

Although the loan “ceiling” and “floor” remain unchanged from 2006, loan limits between the floor and ceiling have been adjusted to reflect changes in median home price by metropolitan statistical area.

The Federal Housing Administration will generally back loans up to 95 percent of the median house price for a given area. But the FHA mortgage “ceiling limit” can usually not exceed 87 percent of the Freddie Mac loan limit of $417,000, or $362,790 for a single-family home.

Builders will cut construction to offset inventory surplus

After bottoming out in the fourth quarter of 2006, existing-home sales are forecast to gradually rise through 2007 and into 2008, while new-home sales should turnaround by summer, bringing modest price increases, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors.

David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said annual totals for existing-home sales will be fairly comparable between 2006 and 2007. “We have to keep in mind that we were still in boom conditions during the first quarter of 2006 with a high sales volume and double-digit price appreciation,” he said. “We are starting 2007 from a relatively low point, so even with a gradual improvement in sales it’ll be pretty much of a wash in terms of annual totals. The good news is that the steady improvement in sales will support price appreciation moving forward.”

NEW YORK — The infamous “80-20″ rule of real estate — the notion that 20 percent of Realtors do 80 percent of the business — works similarly in the case of online communities, said Matt Heaton, CEO for Active Rain, a community of real estate bloggers.

“The same thing happens in all of these online communities — 20 percent are really active in doing all the postings,” and these real estate professionals are generally getting results for their activity, Heaton said. “Consumers are reading the content and are connecting with agents.”