March 2025

New Season, New Tech, New Challenges

As the days get longer and temperatures rise, the spring homebuying season is kicking into high gear. It’s also a busy time within the industry, with conference season back in full swing and important insights emerging from recent events on a national stage. In this month’s newsletter, we’re exploring key points from the annual Consumer Compliance Conference and its Fair Servicing panel with SVP of Covius Compliance Jennifer Keys, looking at what’s ahead for the home equity market and detailing an exciting, AI-powered announcement from Covius’ real estate auction platform, RealtyBid.

Pete Pannes
Chief Business Officer

RealtyBid Now Offers FoxyAI-Powered Condition Scoring & ROI Insights

Covius has partnered with FoxyAI to bring advanced, condition-adjusted property valuations and ROI estimates on improvements to RealtyBid— making it the first national online auction platform to offer this level of property insight! With the new integration, RealtyBid users can benefit from AI-powered condition scoring for more accurate valuations, after-renovation value estimates based on local market data and ROI projections to help investors and future homeowners make smarter decisions.

The Rapidly Changing Compliance Landscape

Earlier this month, Jennifer Keys, SVP of Covius Compliance Solutions, participated in a “Fair Servicing” panel at the 38th Annual Consumer Compliance Conference, hosted by the Florida Bankers Association in Orlando. The panel covered everything from the role of compliance professionals in the current environment and the direction they should be giving their executives to compliance frameworks.

Home Equity: A Bright Spot…That’s Getting Brighter

We’re approximately one quarter of the way through 2025, and despite some slight rate volatility the year looks very much like last year for our industry, with one notable exception—home equity. Will home equity have the year that most expect?

Key Takeaways from NADP Agency Panel: Stability of Current Default Rates & Growing Concerns Over Rising Taxes & Insurance Costs

At the recent National Association of Default Professionals’ (NADP) 40th Annual Summit, Chris Link, Covius SVP of Asset and Default Management and head of RealtyBid, Covius’ auction platform, moderated an “Agency Update” panel, featuring experts from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The panel focused on key trends in default servicing and the broader real estate market. The conversation highlighted the stability of current default rates but emphasized growing concerns over rising taxes and insurance costs, particularly impacting homeowners who bought high in 2022 and 2023 who may have less equity and more financial stress. The panelists noted that while REO levels remain historically low — currently inventory levels are roughly 3-3.5% of what they were 10 years ago — economic shifts, market corrections and loss mitigation strategies will shape future trends. The session reinforced the importance of proactive strategies for real estate professionals navigating a shifting landscape.

Residential & Commercial Flood Insurance Testing

Clayton Servicing Oversight helps banks, MSR owners and servicers conduct both residential and commercial flood insurance testing to help measure their performance, validate regulatory and investor compliance and identify loan and portfolio-level risk. Whether it’s preparing for an audit or establishing ongoing flood insurance testing, Clayton ensures the best execution of regulatory and investor guidelines to mitigate losses. To find out more, contact Zaira Rodriguez.