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the latest ORIGINATION Or ig i nat ion establish a meaningful rapport with mortgage shoppers," Change Sciences said in its report. Looking at each lender's site in more detail, the report finds the top performers' sites are 18 percent more usable, 11 percent more engaging, and 30 percent more likely to convert visitors than those at the bottom. The top three mortgage sites stood more or less neck and neck, differing by no more than two points overall, Change Sciences reported. On the other hand, two large lenders stood out at the bottom of the rankings. Research finds BofA's site to be 14 percent less usable, 13 percent less engaging, and 18 percent less effective on conversion than the top three sites, while TD Bank was judged 13 percent less usable, 8 percent less engaging, and 26 percent less likely to convert. NAR predicts small steps forward in 2014 as job numbers improve. C ommercial real estate (CRE) patterns are expected to continue on a "steady but modest" growth path, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) predicted in its quarterly CRE forecast. NAR's recent CRE Quarterly Market Survey shows leasing activity up 2 percent in the third quarter compared to the second, with sales levels also rising. The association attributes the improvement to an economic pickup in Q 3. "Jobs are the key driver for commercial real estate, and the accumulation of 7 million net new jobs from the low point a few years ago is steadily showing up as demand for leasing and purchases of properties," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. However, Yun said, "the difficulty of accessing loans remains a hindrance to a faster recovery." Analyzing the CRE market's growth, NAR noted increased interest in more expensive properties. Sales of commercial properties costing more than $2.5 million rose 26 percent in the third quarter compared to last year, while sales for properties costing less than that were up 11 percent. Over the next year, NAR expects to see vacancy rates fall in three out of four commercial sectors, edging up only slightly in the multifamily segment (up 0.1 percentage point to 4 percent). NAR forecasts vacancy rates of 15.4 percent (from 15.6 percent) in office markets, 8.6 percent (from 9.2 percent) in industrial markets, and 9.9 percent (from 10.4 percent) in retail markets. As far as rents go, the association projects gains all around. In the office space, rents were expected to increase 2.4 percent in 2013 and 2.5 percent in 2014; in the industrial sector, rents were projected to rise 2.3 percent last year and 2.5 percent this year; retail markets were expected to see average rents up 1.4 percent last year and 2.2 percent this year; and apartment rents were forecast to increase 4 percent for 2013 followed by 4.3 percent growth in 2014. The M Report | 41 se c on da r y m a r k e t A survey of consumer attitudes shows many potential borrowers are dissatisfied when it comes to shopping for mortgages online. Conducted and published by Web analytics company Change Sciences, the research report examines the user experience at the websites of 12 leading mortgage lenders, including Bank of America (BofA), JPMorgan Chase, Quicken Loans, and Wells Fargo. According to Change Sciences' findings, mortgage sites as a whole are "less usable" than sites providing traditional e-commerce offerings, such as Amazon and Walmart. Compared to other financial sites, mortgage domains rank about average; they fall short when put against personal finance sites. "Many mortgage sites are missing an opportunity to a na ly t ic s Survey finds lots of room for improvement in banks' online offerings. s e r v ic i ng Borrowers Unimpressed with Online Mortgage Experience Commercial Real Estate on Track for Moderate Growth