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68 from its peak of nearly 118,000 reached in September 2010. Correspondingly the REO numbers followed. e FHFA's Foreclosure Prevention Report for Q4 2015 said that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac owned a combined total of 72,783 REO properties as of the end of the fourth quarter—less than a third of their peak total five years earlier. at quarter, property acquisitions outpaced dispositions by the count of 124,000 to 74,000. And analysts are optimistic for the future. Freddie Mac is predicting that housing fundamentals such as home sales, housing starts, and prices will all reach levels not seen since 2006, two years before the crash. "Housing markets are poised for their best year in a decade," Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sean Becketti said. "In our latest forecast, total home sales, housing starts, and house prices will reach their highest levels since 2006. Low mortgage rates, robust job growth and a gradual increase in housing supply will help drive housing markets forward. Low levels of inventory for-sale and for-rent and declining housing affordability will be major challenges, but on balance the nation's housing markets should sustain their momentum from 2015 into 2016 and 2017." ADAPT OR DIE—THE MODERN MORTGAGE INDUSTRY A widespread shift is happening in the mortgage industry. We are returning to a level of "normalcy" that hasn't been felt in nearly a decade. And make no mistake, for some, that return to normal has the capacity to be every bit as shocking to their organizations as the financial crisis itself. Organizational survival may hinge on the ability to pivot and redirect into more profitable business lines. ey need to be agile. "Business agility" refers to organizational attributes that enable businesses to respond quickly to changes in the landscape without losing momentum. Agile businesses are able to act quickly to seize opportunities. ey have plans and processes in place that allow them to bounce back from setbacks at a quicker pace. ey maintain a level of innovation that allows them to develop new products, services, and methodologies that leave the competition in the dust. ey maintain an open and transparent organizational structure that empowers individuals to act independently to solve problems, skewing traditional bureaucratic roles. According to Evan Leybourn, an experienced leader, coach, and published author in the developing field of Agile Business Management, "Benefits to this agile organizational and team structure include faster delivery times, rapid response to new issues, and improved information sharing across the organization." Put simply: agility is the ideal. At its core it is the ability to sense shifts in the marketplace, respond to the changing circumstances, and deploy solutions that better fit current market conditions. Mortgage servicers, asset management companies, and other service providers that once thrived after the foreclosure crisis are revamping their image and business practices in order to adapt to the strengthening real estate market. An article from the Wall Street Journal by Joe Light referred to the switch- up among these companies as an "identity crisis" as they alter their businesses to separate their foreclosure-related past from future opportunities. Ed Delgado, President and CEO of the Five Star Institute, a provider of education and training programs for the mortgage industry, told the Wall Street Journal that companies which are slow to adapt to the changing real estate environment may be in trouble. "ere's a risk of extinction for companies that are either slow to realize the change in the market or simply don't adapt. You can expect to see both contraction and extinction of some of these organizations," Delgado said. And the industry is responding. In January of this year Auction. com announced that the company would be rebranded as Ten-X as part of a transition into an online marketplace that sells traditional, "There's a risk of extinction for companies that are either slow to realize the change in the market or simply don't adapt. You can expect to see both contraction and extinction of some of these organizations." – Ed Delgado, President & CEO, Five Star Institute