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37 » VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM normalizing, these two worlds are aligning where servicer and agent/buyer technologies are integrating to deliver experiences similar to the traditional residential real estate market. While distressed home sales still exceeded 10% in 2015, the trick is justifying "innovation technology" spend in a shrinking REO market. Fortunately, even at its current size, the REO market is very large. Further, strong companies serving the REO market since before the recession understand that the real estate industry is cyclical. As such, we actually see great long-term and short-term value in investing in technology and analytics for the future of REO. Was there a turning point in which market insight and data became valuable to the REO market? For the REO sector, data and market intelligence historically hasn't been made available to agents. at's changing today as technology providers realize there is a deep need for this insight and in some cases what is buried inside their platforms is incredibly powerful data. Historically, the key value of an REO technology platform was the standardized workflow that allowed clients to manage their regulatory and compliance risk. As long as you followed the workflow, you could be sure you were mitigating your risk. Now, that's simply table stakes. Today, the opportunity is to support both servicers and agents by tapping into their usage and performance data and benchmarking that against industry standards and trends. We are seeing with our clients and agents that advanced analytics is unlocking actionable insight on how they are performing in their markets as compared with their peers—down to a hyper local level. is will become increasingly important as more agents want to better compete for leads and listings and better understand how their performance for a given servicer is being evaluated. Making this data available offers agents insight into how to further improve their performance—which means it's also good for the servicers and buyers. A win, win, win. How are online platforms reshaping the agent experience? In the past, most REO platforms did not embrace the consumer-friendly experiences that accelerated with the adoption of the smart phone. at is changing quickly. Our platforms are becoming more user-friendly and optimized for mobile to reach agents on the go and make their workflow more efficient. For servicers, we believe our technology platforms need to proactively optimize the key moments in the REO process where there is significant financial upside and compliance risk. One example is to offer advanced analytics to the servicers to better manage the agent networks. Selecting the wrong agent can result in delays, lower sales prices, and even inject potential compliance risk. To address this, we have infused the Equator Agent search function with big data to allow servicers to always find the best agent for a given asset. is "matching" process is intended to help a servicer sell an REO in less time than today's process. is will help to directly impact servicers' ability to move REO assets off their balance sheets faster and help them find the right agent for any given REO. Today this process is surprisingly inefficient, but analytics technology can change that. What can agents do in the remainder of 2016 to ensure they are prepared to meet the REO market of 2017? First, it's increasingly important to stay close to their local market's REO trends and understand better how to compete for the servicer leads and listings. Staying current on the evolving default industry is also key. It's very different than other real estate sectors, and it is changing quickly. ere is still significant opportunity, but knowing how to win is more essential than ever—and again that comes back to having access to local market REO intelligence. Second, it's vital to build up a web profile that servicers will see. Related, having an up-to-date social media presence will play a key role in how a servicer will consider a new agent. Ultimately, successful agent REO marketing is a function of laying a strong web foundation, knowing how your performance is being evaluated by servicers and advertising in the right places to stand out and to reach the right servicer and buyer audiences. Lastly, learn how to proactively build relationships with servicers. Each servicer is different but ultimately they value consistency, proximity, and performance. Having insight into how each servicer sees this can help drive an agent's business and make them more knowledgeable and more valuable to their customers. What do you think the next "big" innovation will be in the REO agent space? e market will be shaped by big data and advanced analytics (and eventually machine learning). Successful participants in the next evolution of REO will learn how tap into that data early and often and know how to adapt their business and performance accordingly. Virtually every major industry will be materially affected by this, and distressed real estate will be no different. "Each servicer is different but ultimately they value consistency, proximity, and performance."