In a market where there are less than a half dozen or so providers of commercial mortgage leads you need to be careful as to how and at what cost you wish to acquire new clients. Most provider business models call for a low cost per lead followed by receiving a portion of the closing commission later.
The Commercial Mortgage Lead business is an exclusive one where only a few companies are focused on the industry and target commercial loan applicants only. Many of the other providers are residential mortgage lead providers who receive commercial leads sparingly and sell them without a full understanding of the industry or needs of a commercial mortgage lender or broker.
As most lenders and brokers on the commercial real estate side of the equation know, investors and owners use the web more than ever to research options and rates before engaging. This makes commercial mortgage lead generation a critical addition to any broker or lender's marketing plan.
In 2004 there were more than 450 residential mortgage lead providers. This shrunk in 2005 to 350 and then in 2006 to less than 120. On the commercial mortgage leads side of the industry the same few providers that were servicing the industry in 2001 are still here now. While the diversity is not as vast and the business models very different, the stability and service levels have risen.
More and more commercial mortgage lenders and brokers are investing in third party commercial mortgage leads to increase their pipelines in a cost effective way. At the same time there has been a softening in the residential real estate market causing many brokers to migrate to commercial mortgages to survive. This migration has expanded the universe of potential clients for commercial mortgage lead generation firms and commercial lenders while adding more choice and diversity for the applicants.
The value of Commercial Mortgage Leads is far greater than residential due to several factors.
1) Commercial Mortgage Leads present a much greater chance for high dollar amounts per loan. On average Commercial Mortgage loan requests start at 2million.
2) Commercial Mortgage Leads provide the opportunity to build relationships with Commercial Real Estate Investors who do more than 1 deal per year.
3) Commercial Mortgage Leads offer the advantage of doing business in up to 41 states that do not require additional licensing for out of state brokers.
4) Commercial Mortgage leads make possible the opportunity to facilitate loans in a B2B environment as opposed to struggling with residential buyers.
Commercial Real Estate Development follows roof tops. Now that the residential real estate boom is over, those communities need to catch up to provide goods and services to new markets. New strip malls, banks, restaurants etc.. all need to be built. The timing could not be better to start building wealth and develop a pipeline of opportunities that will carry you through the next 2-5 years.
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