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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 53 COVER FEATURE At the same time, technology will have to deliver solutions that are secure and can seamlessly be integrated into other proprietary systems. is is important because service providers are looking for technology that streamlines the steps taken to manage vendor networks and to work within a familiar system that centralizes required data. Technology systems will continue to provide permissions based access allowing service providers to ensure data is both secure and auditable. While the regulatory environment will continue to influence the industry in 2016, incorporating changes in the vendor management process will include the utilization of responsive and innovative technology systems. To meet evolving business and investor/insurer compliance requirements, service providers will continue to need strong technology platforms that are agile and comprehensive. For the financial services industry, including technology that complements their risk management and compliance strategies just makes sound business sense. COVER FEATURE ASSET DISPOSITION RICK SHARGA Executive Vice President, Auction.com Every industry transformation has an inflection point, and we believe that 2016 may be the year when the real estate industry takes its final, inevitable step towards an online future. Real estate began to move online with sites offering massive amounts of information. Zillow and Trulia, among others, have succeeded in changing the way homebuyers search for and find properties they're interested in. e shift has been dramatic: the National Association of Realtors reported that 92% of home purchases in 2014 included online property searches. at's a higher number than the percentage of sellers who worked with an agent (90%) or the number of buyers who worked with an agent (88%). e next step in this online evolution is moving from information to transactions. Auction.com has already been doing online real estate transactions since 2008, conducting eBay-style auctions of residential and commercial real estate (CRE) assets, resulting in over 200,000 sales, worth more than $34 billion. e overwhelming majority of those sales have been the disposition of distressed assets, purchased by investors. But a year ago, we began making the transition from distressed assets to traditional properties in the CRE market. Today, over 50% of the CRE assets we bring to sale are high-quality, non-distressed properties, which are selling at full market value to buyers from around the world. Our recent sale of Manhattan Towers in Los Angeles to a Canadian investment group for $96 million set a record for online transactions. CRE brokers are working with us to bring their sellers' properties to market as well – we've worked with over 2,500 brokers, and disbursed over $200 million in brokers' fees. e CRE market, clearly, is embracing the idea of online sales. And the residential market appears ready to embrace online home sales as well. Over 40% of the people who register for our online auctions are owner/occupants. We've been running a small pilot program, marketing non-distressed homes on a site called Auction.com Select, and the results have been amazing. Almost 90% of the homes we've marketed have sold within three weeks of being listed, at 96% of list price. Two-thirds of the buyers are owner/occupants – traditional homebuyers – who are working with Realtors and using traditional financing to close their deals. We plan to launch a new consumer- facing website early in 2016 to fully leverage the transparency, speed, efficiency and ease-of-use that Internet technology can bring to the real estate industry. Real estate is moving online in 2016, and we believe that Auction.com is uniquely well positioned to help consumers and real estate professionals move successfully into the brave new online world of real estate. COVER FEATURE FIELD SERVICES ROB COOPER Managing Director, Assurant Field Asset Services In 2016, we expect to see servicers and field service providers continue to align with the requirements of regulations – they are here to stay. e cost of compliance has had a significant impact on all parties involved. ere is a high cost of fees and fines that result from failing to comply, but also in expenses related to implementing processes and procedures to reduce the risk of non- compliance. As the industry moves forward in this new environment, companies are focused on finding new ways to improve efficiencies that will allow them to meet requirements and hold down costs. e exposure to financial risk is at the forefront of almost every decision being made by executives in the front office to the service providers in the field. e paradox is that while servicers and field service providers feel the pressure of trying to find new ways to manage and perform in order to meet the increasing levels of federal, state and local regulations, the vendor costs are increasing as the allowable expenses stay the same, creating compression in the market. Over time, we believe this will reshape the processes and organizational structures of the field service providers and their networks. Companies who are both innovative in their strategies and financially secure enough to withstand the cost of implementation will likely be the ones who succeed. Technology, accurate data and failsafe processes are the keys to building an organization that will not only survive but thrive in the next few years. A variety of other factors will impact the industry in 2016, such as reduced inventory, a larger percent of GSE volume, and lack of geographical work density. ese market conditions, combined with the exposure to financial risk, are forcing a change in the landscape. e full impact won't be seen for years to come. We are planning for the future. During the past few years, our company has been focused on building an organization that is positioned to be more than a traditional field service company — we are a strategic partner who helps minimize our clients' exposure to risk. COVER FEATURE COMPLIANCE BRIAN T. O'REILLY President, The Collingwood Group, LLC As we approach 2016 and begin to assess how the coming year is likely to unfold for the housing finance industry generally and Collingwood clients specifically, COVER STORY SUCCESS FORMUL A INDUSTRY INSIGHT

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