In the years between the housing bust and our current recovery, there was a major profit to be made in the foreclosure cleanup business. Companies like Nationstar Mortgage Holding Inc. and Auction.com thrived while providing services like processing foreclosures and auctioning off underwater homes. But now that we have been in a housing recovery for a couple of years, are these businesses still relevant? As Joe Light reported in The Wall Street Journal, many of these companies are choosing to reinvent themselves completely.
Many companies that made their bread and butter addressing the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis are expanding into other areas of the mortgage and real-estate businesses, in a bid to remain relevant or maintain growth as the housing market continues to strengthen.
Some are buying or launching completely new business lines that they hope can thrive as home prices rise. In the most extreme cases, the companies have decided it makes sense to take on a completely new identity to separate themselves from their foreclosure-related pasts.
- Joe Light The Wall Street Journal
While it is a smart move to stay current with the times, it still remains to be seen whether or not these companies will be able to profit from their reinventions. Only time will tell if they are able to remain relevant in our changing market.
