News By Edition

The Bismarck, N.D.-based The Title Team continues growing its Minnesota footprint, as it acquired three title companies in the past six months.

The Title Team now has 37 offices. Because of its size, it can offer services and support that a smaller office would have a hard time doing on its own, President and CEO Nick Hacker told The Title Report.

Read on for more from Hacker about the acquisitions.

ROC Title Agency hired a new vice president of sales in Arizona. She has 11 years of experience in real estate.

Read on for more.

The 2022 Voice of The Title Agent special report will be available on Tuesday. Fourteen survey participants were chosen as winners of various prizes including a registration to the 2022 National Settlement Services Summit, digital subscriptions to The Title Report, and October Research 20-ounce YETI tumbler.

Read on for more.

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) created a Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan template to help member companies develop a strategy to prepare for, identify, respond and recover from cybersecurity incidents.

The template is developed based on information from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which has established guidelines to help companies protect themselves against cyber threats.

Read on for more.

BCHH Inc. expects to successfully complete the Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 Type I examination of its internal quality management system in the second quarter.

A successful completion of the SOC2 exam and the issuance of its Type I report provides assurance that adequate controls exist to ensure data security and confidentiality.

Read on for more.

Cherry Tree Legal PLLC launched its firm in Lynn, Mass., with a team of 10 attorneys. The firm also partnered with the law offices of Peter Gizzi, P.C. and Cherry Tree Title LLC of Lynnfield, Mass.

Cherry Tree Title offers real estate closing, settlement services, title exams and insurance and paralegal services in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.

Read on for more.

Real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield named a chief digital and information officer. She will be based in Boston and will provide solutions to improve operations, enhance client service and drive new business.

She joined the company in 2011 and has held technology leadership positions across the business.

Read on for more about the new appointment.

Qualia expanded its remote online notarization (RON) solution to six new states.

It also rolled out new features that will make it easier for more title companies to complete fully remote signings and closings, including adding fillable forms e-signing functionality within Qualia Connect and Qualia RON.

Read on for more about the RON expansion and new features.

Doma Title Insurance is expanding its underwriting footprint with two new hires in the New England market. The new agency manager and regional underwriting counsel will support title agents and attorneys in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Read on for more.

Ascendant National Title, a Cypress Ascendant company, named a senior vice president, national commercial services. He will be responsible for strategic direction, growth and performance of the team on the West Coast.

Read on for more.

The housing market has changed drastically since the World Health Organization officially declared coronavirus a pandemic on March 11, 2020. There are now half as many homes to choose from, and prices have surged 34 percent, according to a Redfin report.

Read on for more.

Atlanta real estate law firm and residential and commercial title insurance solution Ganek PC and Atlanta title agency Blue Ink Title will partner as of April 15.

Blue Ink Title will become Ganek Kirkwood, and the founder of Blue Ink Title will join Ganek PC as an associate partner and managing attorney.

Read on for more about the partnership.

Realogy Holdings Corp. reported revenue of $2 billion for the fourth quarter of 2021, a 4 percent year-over-year increase. The chief financial officer said it was the company’s best fourth quarter on record, not counting the “unseasonably high Q4 2020.”

For the entire year, Realogy posted a revenue of $8 billion, an increase of 28 percent from 2020, and an operating EBITDA of $902 million, a 20 percent year-over-year increase. The CEO said that was the strongest annual financial results in the company’s history.

Read on for more from the earnings report.

Community Title Network, a subsidiary to Community Closing Network, is consolidating the brands of three of its title agencies under the name Community Title Network.

The consolidated brands include Real Estate Title & Escrow, based on the eastern shore of Maryland and Delaware, Maryland-based Colony Title Group, and newly acquired Freedom Title Inc. in Manassas, Va.

Read on for more.

The Federal Reserve increased short-term interest rates by a quarter-percentage point, amid the highest inflation rates in more than 40 years. First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi explains what that means for the housing market.

Read on for more.

Arizona-based Fidelity National Title Agency named a 36-year industry veteran as president/county manager. She will oversee the management of personnel, production, financial results, and market penetration for escrow- and title-related services.

Read on for more.

In February, the number of properties with foreclosure filings was up 11 percent from January and 129 percent year-over-year, according to a report from RealtyTrac, an ATTOM company. It marks the gradual return to normal levels of foreclosure activity, RealtyTrac’s executive vice president said.

Read on for more from the report.

First American Financial Corp. appointed the managing director of the company’s venture investing arm to the newly created position of chief innovation officer.

He will identify opportunities to leverage First American’s capital position, distribution channels, data assets and proprietary technologies, according to CEO Ken DeGiorgio, as well as opportunities for strategic venture investments, partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions.

Read on for more.

Columbus, Ohio-based holding company GO Companies launched its new business and intends to create a “one-stop shop” for homebuyers that includes title, mortgage and brokerage services.

The company acquired a bank, bought a controlling interest in a residential real estate broker and a minority stake in a title insurance company.

Read on for more about the new company.

Chicago-based Proper Title opened a new office in Crystal Lake, Ill., the company’s first office in McHenry County. It marks the firm’s 13th closing location and the sixth office opened in the past two years.

The agency’s vice president of business development will work out of the office, along with an account executive.

Read on for more about the new office.

Stewart Title named a division president for north Texas. He will lead efforts to grow the north Texas sales team and branches, recruit talent, and expand the client base.

Read on for more.

Cleveland-based Anderson Biro, an executive recruiting firm specializing in the settlement services space, named the company’s longtime director of recruiting as an equity partner.

Read on for more.

Nearly 6,000 homes sold for at least $100,000 over the asking price during the first six weeks of the year, according to Redfin. That’s more than double the number from the same period last year.

Read on for more from the Redfin report.

Michigan-based ATA National Title Group acquired Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Absolute Title, Inc., founded in 1993. The new company will be named Absolute Title Agency. The new agency will maintain its Ann Arbor office and its 17 employees.

ATA has long targeted Ann Arbor for expansion, according to its president.

Read on for more about the acquisition.

A new title insurance and settlement services company offering residential and refi services launched in Chevy Chase, Md.

The company is led by a managing attorney with more than 15 years of legal experience. She is proficient in landlord-tenant law and the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, which can be a challenge for landlords selling property. 

Read on for more about the new company.

Title and settlement services franchise business TitleEase added a new franchisee, Global Integrity Insurance Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Global Integrity Finance. The new franchise is in McKinney, Texas, and will serve customers nationwide.

Global Integrity Insurance Services is a direct private lender that specializes in hard money, fix-and-flip and investor loans as well as other real estate investment financing.

Read on for more.

Real estate brokerage Call It Closed International Realty launched Call It Closed Title Service. The agency is underwriting in North Carolina and South Carolina, with plans to expand to other states.

Read on for more.

Kensington Vanguard National Land Services added to its business development team in Arizona. The company hired a vice president of business development to lead its business development in the state.

Read on for more.

The iBuyer market share dropped slightly from the third quarter to the fourth quarter in 2021, according to a Zillow report. But the fourth quarter still represented the second-strongest quarter in history for homes sold using an iBuying service.

Read on for more from the report.

Fidelity National Financial reported a total revenue, excluding recognized gains and losses, of $4.6 billion for the fourth quarter, a 43 percent year-over-year increase.

In the title segment, Fidelity posted record adjusted pre-tax title earnings of $717 million in the fourth quarter, compared with $624 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Read on for more from the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report.

Tennessee-based Foundation Title & Escrow opened a new office in the northwestern part of the state.

The Dyersburg office will have two full-time team members, with plans to hire a third, and be overseen by one of the company’s regional managers. He said he looks forward to expanding the business into West Tennessee.

Read on to learn more about the company’s expansion.

Qualia released automatic ordering into its Marketplace. The new feature enables title and escrow companies to automatically order closing services from participating vendors, reducing the time it takes to complete closings.

With automatic ordering, agents can set up rule-based automations to place closing orders, such as tax search, title search and HOA documents, and assign specific vendors.

Read on for more.

Ascendant National Title named a senior vice president of title and technology strategy. She will oversee all title and escrow production systems, software integrations associated with those systems and production and revenue reporting.

Read on for more.

CoreLogic appointed a president of CoreLogic Protect to lead the company’s new business unit. This move unites all CoreLogic’s global insurance data and technology solutions under his leadership.

Read on for more.

Record-high earnings for title insurers will level off this year, according to Fitch Ratings’ latest sector dashboard. However, Fitch predicts continued healthy inflow for the “Big Four” underwriters.

Read on for more.

Michigan-based real estate brokerage Community Realty’s owner and managing broker had been considering entering a joint venture with a title company.

But when the pandemic hit, and good customer service became more important than ever, the two decided to open a title agency of their own.

Read on for more about their new title company.

PropLogix launched a weekly podcast/video series on real estate news called Four Stories. Each episode will feature four of the week’s top headlines from the real estate, mortgage, and title industries.

Read on for more.

Housing affordability in 2021 fell year-over-year, as house-buying power was unable to keep up with house price growth, according to First American economist Ksenia Potapov. The pandemic’s push toward remote working opportunities provided renters the chance to pursue homeownership in more affordable cities.

Read on for more.

A record 32.4 percent of Redfin.com users looked to move to a different metro area in January, according to a Redfin report. That’s up from the previous record of 31.5 percent in the first quarter of 2021.

Read on for more.

Fewer homes than ever were for sale in January, but homebuyers snapped up what they could quickly, according to Redfin. Seasonally adjusted new listings fell 12.4 percent month-over-month, bringing the number of homes for sale down 2.6 percent to a record low. But demand persisted, and sales rose 7.5 percent.

Read on for more.