News By Edition

An in-house conversational artificial intelligence (AI) tool designed by Washington, D.C.-based Razi Title, Inc. is already benefiting several title companies before it’s made more widely available later this year.

Project leaders sat down with The Title Report to lay out how the technology will improve the industry in both the short term and long term, and what might be possible in the coming years.

Read on to find out more information.

An expert panel at the 2023 Association for Title Information Management (ATIM) Excel conference spoke on the present and future of title production, measuring benefits of AI, outsourcing and keeping work in-house.

The Title Report sat in on this ATIM session full of personal business insights, stories of lessons learned and predictions for what the industry will look like over the next decade.

Read on to find out more information.

Foundation Title & Escrow expanded its multistate footprint into Ohio, opening the company’s first Buckeye State location just south of Cleveland, led by a team of industry veterans serving as president and vice president.

Offices are also located throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee, offering commercial and residential services.

Read on to find out more information.

According to new data from the National Federation of Independent Business, the share of small business owners expecting better conditions over the next six months declined in April.

Owners’ plans to fill open positions remain elevated, with a seasonally adjusted net 17 percent planning to create new jobs in the next three months.

Read on to find out more.

A new installment of October Research’s Economic Forecast webinar series welcomes international real estate expert Dr. Ted C. Jones, who delved into numerous topics affecting the title industry, housing and the mortgage market.

Read on to find out more information.

Doma Title Insurance has appointed a long-time escrow agent and marketing specialist as its new agency manager for the company’s west Texas and New Mexico operations.

Read on to learn more.

ATTOM reports foreclosure starts decreased 7 percent in April, with completed foreclosures dropping by 39 percent month-over-month.

Read on to find out more information.

The American Land Title Association’s latest market share analysis shows full-year 2022 title industry premium volume of $21 billion, down from 2021 but above results from 2020.

During the fourth quarter of 2022, title premium volume totaled $4.4 billion. This was down 38 percent from the $7.1 billion in title premium volume generated during the same quarter in 2021.

Read on to find out more information.

Real estate platform EasyKnock acquired powerbuying and cash offer solutions provider Ribbon Home, with company leaders citing benefits including simpler transaction experiences and competitive advantage for consumers.

Following the acquisition, both teams said they will work with strategic partners to bring their expanded product suite to key markets with an eye towards national expansion.

Read on to learn more.

Florida-based CLOSED Title is opening its second office in Oklahoma after first making a footprint there last year. The new office will serve Edmond, Okla.

A promotion and pair of hires also are being made, with company leaders attributing those moves to expansion and increased demand. CLOSED Title was established in 2018.

Read on to find out more information.

Kriss Law/Atlantic Closing & Escrow has added a new president of its commercial services division. He will oversee nationwide commercial growth and be based at the company’s Massachusetts headquarters.

Read on to learn more.

Fintech lender Better said its new fully digital home equity line of credit can be completed in less than five minutes, leading to closing in as little as three days.

Read on to find out more.

Nearly half of homes that sold during the four weeks ending April 30 went under contract within two weeks, down from 51 percent a year earlier but up from 46 percent a month earlier, according to new reporting from Redfin. Read on to learn more. 

A first quarter earnings report from First American Financial Corp. shows title segment revenue down 32 percent and companywide revenue down 29 percent.

Pretax income for the title insurance and services segment was $88 million in the first quarter, compared with $220 million in the first quarter of 2022, according to the earnings report.

Read on to find out more.

Loop Information Systems, Inc. is introducing a software licensing option for its ClosingSite transaction management system, which has previously only been offered as software-as-a-service (SaaS).

The new product, called ClosingSite Enterprise, is geared toward larger title and closing firms with rigorous compliance and security needs, particularly public companies.

Read on for an exclusive interview with Loop Information Systems leadership.

New data from the National Federation of Independent Business shows 92 percent of small-business owners reporting no qualified applicants for open positions.

Overall, 60 percent of owners reported hiring or trying to hire in April. Twenty-nine percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions and 26 percent reported none.

Read on to find out more.

Old Republic International Corp. has tapped a former NBA executive to fill its newly created role of senior vice president – chief human resource officer.

Read on to learn more.

Branch, a Columbus, Ohio-based insurer, is partnering with paymints.io on digital premium payments for agency partners and title companies.

Read on to find out more.

Redfin reports prices have come down enough to offset rising mortgage rates in some pandemic boomtowns and expensive coastal markets such as Seattle and Austin, Texas.

Read on to find out more information.

A first quarter earnings report from Fidelity National Financial, Inc. shows title segment revenue of $1.6 billion, down from highs of the past two years but in line with reports in 2018 and 2019.

Direct title premiums for the first quarter amounted to $428 million, a 44 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2022. Agency title premiums of $550 million were down 50 percent year-over-year.

Read on to learn more.

Fintech company Stavvy partnered with WFG National Title Insurance Co. to provide WFG customers access to eClosing solutions.

The two companies had previously teamed up to offer remote online notarization services. Company leaders said eClosing will allow for increased customer service, transaction security as well as fraud protection.

Read on to find out more information.

Doma Title Insurance appointed a new agency manager for central and southern Virginia, tapping a real estate industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience.

Read on to learn more.

A new integration will allow Trustmark users to facilitate eClosings powered by Snapdocs without ever leaving Finastra’s MortgagebotLOS. Read on to learn more. 

New data from ATTOM shows what months of the year bring the best returns for homesellers, with May standing out from the pack in terms day-by-day seller premiums.

Read on to find out more.

Old Republic National Title Holding Co. Executive Chairman Rande Yeager announced his retirement, effective June 30.

Yeager has worked for Old Republic for 36 years out of a nearly 50-year title insurance industry career. Company leadership credited him with spearheading initiatives that promoted innovation and engaging in advocacy efforts to reinforce the industry’s reputation.

Read on to learn more.

ClosingLock and CATIC announced a new partnership designed to bring heightened value, security and efficiency to title agents’ workflows.

According to company leaders, CATIC agents now receive preferred pricing on ClosingLock’s suite of tools that includes secure wire instructions, payoff verification, two-way documents, eSigning and identity verification.

Read on to find out more information.

A recent first quarter earnings call from Old Republic International Corp. showed title revenue from net premiums and fees down 41.6 percent compared with the first three months of 2022.

Company leaders said elevated interest rates continue to be the primary contributor to lower title segment performance. Old Republic Title brought in $583.2 million in the first quarter of 2023.

Read on to learn more.

Mobility Market Intelligence found a new regional director of growth, appointing a former customer success manager and inside account manager with roughly a decade of industry experience.

Read on to find out more.

SoftPro released new enhancements for NotaryLoop’s integration into SoftPro360, providing users access to a new loan information screen with loan type and lender drop-down fields, among other features.

Read on to learn more.

A new Zillow survey finds younger generations still believe owning a home is part of the American dream, but they don’t know how they’ll achieve it.

Read on to find out more information.

A first quarter earnings report from Stewart Information Services Corp. shows significant revenue drops across the company and in its title segment compared with both last quarter and a year ago.

Title segment operating revenue came in at $456.9 million across the first quarter of 2023, down from $722 million. Company leaders attribute those results to ongoing market challenges and volume declines.

Read on to find out more.

A new report from FundingShield says wire and title fraud has reached record highs across the first quarter of 2023, with mid-size businesses especially vulnerable.

The FBI released its 2022 Internet Crime Report showing the number of reported real estate-related fraud complaints rose to 11,727 in 2022 from 11,578 in 2021.

Read on to find out more information.

Newly established Iron Title Insurance Agency hired a senior vice president of operations and filled other leadership positions while expanding its footprint with new locations.

Read on to find out more.

Redfin.com home searches for out-of-town destinations have dropped 4 percent from a year ago, compared with a 16 percent drop for searches near home.

Read on to learn more information.