Attracting & Retaining Mortgage Brokers
In-depth personal interviews with mortgage brokers identified how much of their business they allocated to different funding sources and why. We also looked at broker loyalty to major funding sources and the image of those sources. Sophisticated analysis of switching behavior demonstrated that for top brokers, marketing support and intangibles play as much of a role in fostering loyalty as rates and commissions.

The Market for Asset-Based Securities
Beginning with a base of mortgage-backed securities (MBS), we looked at market uptake of asset-backed securities in both retail and institutional markets. Product features and new products that would attract additional investment were a key issue, as was identifying targets for new asset-backed instruments.

The Market for Group Mortgage Assistance Plans
This study was to make a quick go/no-go decision on providing group mortgage assistance plans. Using statistics from government and other sources, we estimated market size and access on the part of our client. The result focused on whether the market was large and profitable enough to meet the investment threshold of our client.

Innovative Strategies for Financing Social Housing
This was an “Expert Opinion Study” to find new ways to fund social housing. In-depth interviews with corporate finance specialists focused on developing innovative strategies for funding social housing projects. Finance specialists from leading firms, guided by a carefully built set of questions, developed strategies to lower government borrowing costs and make it more practical to fund new social housing. Each participant was credited with their unique ideas in the report to facilitate government follow-up. The ideas were supplemented with ideas gathered from secondary research. Our job was also to translate the corporate finance ideas into simpler language to make the material easier to understand.

One-Stop Real Estate Shopping
One-stop real estate shopping envisages a market where new home buyers can get all of the home-buying services they might need through their real estate agency. Services include everything from home appraisals and mortgages to repair, renovation and insurance. Responses of some 1,000 consumers point to a market that is keen on the convenience, but there are distinct market segments in the appeals of specialized services and the channels they prefer to use to buy them.

Mortgage Brokers “Raise the Bar”
Opinion leaders from mortgage brokerage firms, educators and regulators support an accreditation program for mortgage brokers. The four E’s of professional preparation are increasingly important for mortgage brokers: Education, Experience, Exams and Ethics. With over one-quarter of first time home buyers using brokers for their new mortgage, this trend is in line with current regulatory focus on consumer protection.