As 2011 opens to hopefully brighter
days, one can’t help but be plagued by
the uncertainty left over from 2010. How
will Real Estate Agents be impacted by
the still-looming issues of the foreclosure
moratorium? How about the increase
of foreclosure inventory in states like
Nevada, Florida, Michigan and
California? What effect will the growing
shadow inventory have? Agents will
have to evolve or perish in this quickly
changing environment.
Technology is the “secret sauce,”
working 24/7 behind the scenes to
make businesses run smoother, faster
and better than ever before.
Technology makes it possible for Agents
to have access to a flow of information
from Lenders that simply didn’t exist a
year ago. It is literally transforming the
real estate industry before our very eyes.
Let’s pause for a moment and take a
look at some of the problems we are
facing. As unemployment levels
continues to rise, delinquencies,
defaulted loan modifications and ARM
resets are taking their toll on the
country’s morale as well as Lender’s
balance sheets. It is no secret that
markets with the highest rates of
foreclosures also had the highest
increase in values during the housing
bubble of 2000 – 2008. Today, 1 in every
370 homes in these former “hot” markets
such as California, Arizona, Nevada and
Florida has recently received a
foreclosure notice. With more than 4.3
million loans that are 90 days or more
delinquent or in foreclosure (information
provided by LPS Applied Analytics),
Agents need to be prepared for the
onslaught of activity that is coming in
2011. Of these, we’ve seen an increase
of 79 days to 334 days delinquent on
average. In these markets, we’re
seeing foreclosure starts trending 30-
100% higher than the current average
of 0.49% nationally. While the number of
loans that are 90 or more days
delinquent has begun to decline, a
significantly larger proportion has been
delinquent for more than a year, thus
creating a very large shadow over the
foreclosure rates.
An estimated 1.5 million foreclosures are
expected for 2011. The majority of
these will likely occur in states that are
already hard hit. Arizona, California,
Nevada, Florida, Illinois and Michigan
will all see substantial foreclosure activity
this year, and very likely well into 2012.
While the foreclosure moratoriums that
were put into effect at the end of 2010
as a result of the robosigning crisis
stemmed the tide, it was only a
temporary relief. The volume that was
delayed last year is flowing through the
Equator Platform today, and will
continue for the rest of the year.
If that cloud wasn’t dark enough, the
impact of foreclosure delays and
regulatory scrutiny will only result in
longer foreclosure timelines, increasing
costs to both lenders and homeowners.
ate.With the current average of 507 days
ww.equator.com
Tips and Tricks...
Agents often ask how to attract the
attention of asset managers through
the Equator platform. There are
numerous ways to make your profile
more eye-catching to asset managers
and to put yourself a step ahead of
other Agents.
Zip Code Coverage Areas
the Foreclosure Listing Service, Agents
can search through listings that are
available for sale from the Lenders.
Although these listings have already
been assigned to a listing Agent, you
can still utilize this feature to search zip
codes in your area to see which ones
have the most traffic. Sometime there
are several properties available in
areas that are less than attractive to
agents. Your willingness to add those
zip codes to your profile and thus
accept a property in those less
desirable neighborhoods just might
get your foot in the door. More
coverage areas means you’ll appear
in more Agent searches, so be sure to
update yours today!
– ThroughDisplay Options
the agent to personalize his or her
agent profile. Your agent profile
allows you to add a photo, add boldface
type in the agent list, and add
comments about your experience in
the REO and short sale industry.
Personalizing your profile helps you to
not only stand out from the crowd, but
also gives asset managers more
information to help them select the
right Agent for their property.
– Display options allow.comdelinquent for loans in foreclosure, up
125 days from one year ago, loss
severity will increase before it improves.
So, how can technology help stop this
perfect storm?
In order for the real estate industry to
cope with the current market conditions
and increasing volumes, Lenders and
Agents will need to work together to
adopt new technology. By embracing
innovative technologies, Agents will be
able to improve their property sales and
Lenders will improve their loss severity. A
new advancement in technology
ensures that Lenders have the right
people for the right role. With new
technology available to assist lenders
with hiring, staffing and the incentive
process, Agents will directly benefit and
become much better positioned to
meet the needs of this challenging
market.
With the velocity and frequency of
loans flowing into the foreclosure
bucket in 2011, the need for Delinquent
Loan Segmentation technology is most
important for Agents. By having such a
model in place, Servicers will be able to
categorize the loan into a short sale
route and then deliver it to the right
person early on to ensure optimal
outcome for the Agent and
homeowner. The end result is that
Agents spend their time working on
properties that sell. This model takes
months off the timeline of a workout
and all parties involved benefit greatly.
REO Segmentation technology can also
be used for efficient routing and faster
selling of REO properties. The model can
quickly take the market and property
data and produce the desired
disposition path such as rental, hold,
quick sale, repair, donate or auction.
This model sets the right price for an REO
and also sets the correct marketing
strategy. Again, the end result is that
Agents spend their time working on
properties that will sell.
Given this development of new
technology helping Lenders to deliver
more listings to Agents than ever before,
it is vital Agents seek out educational
programs through trade shows and
webinars that will give them the skills
needed to be successful. Agents should
look for programs that focus on loss
mitigation education, selling of
distressed properties, as well as specific
industry software applications. It is
equally important to consider the
source of these educational programs
because numerous unaccredited
websites offer training on these subjects.
Equator’s Agent Certification program
offers 14 training modules designed
specifically to help Agents learn the
technology and business processes
needed to be successful in this
challenging climate.
Based on current data for
unemployment, foreclosure starts and
mortgage applications coupled with
the recent foreclosure moratorium, the
normalization of the market has been
extended an additional 18 months, with
the estimated supply of REO now at 3
years. As a result, short sale and REO
activity will continue to grow as Lenders
attempt to stem the rising foreclosure
inventory by utilizing short sales in lieu of
loans going to REO. The volume of
foreclosures will continue to grow
through 2011 as underemployment and
unemployment wreak havoc on the
borrowers and their inability to refinance
due to high LTV and income issues.
isor is pleased to annouleaner look and making the sit
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