Redfin has launched its Redfin Direct service, which allows potential homebuyers to bid online without a real estate agent. So reports The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Q: Dave, I am thinking about becoming a loan officer. A friend of mine said that he will be training me, and I have already taken the 20-hour course. What is going to determine my success? --Peter from Seattle

For many in mortgage banking, 2019 was great; for others, not so much. In the new year, which will be here soon enough, sales organizations will need to address the challenges inherent in a marketplace characterized by the resurgence of purchase money and the reduction of refinance volume.