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Title companies considering selling might wonder what the best option is for them: Merging with another company? Selling the business outright? Partnering with someone?

At this year’s National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) in Naples, Fla., Britehorn Partners and Britehorn Securities co-founder and Partner Bobbi Babitz Armstrong, Acrisure Real Estate Services Chief Legal Officer Aaron Kanter, and Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP Partner Francis “Trip” Riley discussed what to consider when contemplating an M&A deal.

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Fidelity National Financial, Inc. reported total revenue of $3.9 billion in the third quarter, up 31 percent year-over-year.

CEO Randy Quirk said the title segment continued to deliver record results. Total revenue excluding recognized gains and losses was $3.1 billion, compared with $2.5 billion a year ago, a 24 percent increase.

Read on for more from the third-quarter earnings report.

The pandemic taught everyone to quickly adapt and change. According to PropLogix’s fourth annual State of the Title Industry Report, those lessons continued guiding the title industry in 2021.

The record title order volume due to refinancing activity spurred title and real estate professionals to make some changes to handle the demand, including hiring and training more staff, using mobile notaries more frequently, and adding more automation and AI, according to the survey.

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Redfin launched in Big Bear, Calif., and Ocean City, Md., and extended its brokerage services in Hudson Valley, N.Y., to include parts of Ulster County.

Redfin now serves more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada, including second-home markets that gained popularity with vacationers and remote workers during the pandemic.

Read on for more about the expansion.

 

Paymints.io launched MuniPay, an enhancement to its proprietary disbursement engine, to simplify payments from title agencies to municipalities.

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Fidelity National Financial named a new senior vice president of investor and external relations. Most recently, she was senior vice president of financial planning and analysis at F&G.

Read on for more about the new SVP.

In October, the average 30-year, fixed mortgage rate increased to 3.07 percent, its highest level since March. For context, the historical average of the 30-year, fixed mortgage rate dating back half a century is 7.8 percent, according to First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming. It has never been as low as in the last decade.

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Stewart Title acquired Las Cruces Abstract and Title, an established New Mexico title agency serving Dona Ana, Hidalgo and Luna counties. The acquisition of Las Cruces expands Stewart’s presence in southern New Mexico, the company said.

Las Cruces Abstract and Title Principal Carl Hunter said the company is excited about the possibilities that come with Stewart’s investment in people and technology.

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Amrock named a new CEO to replace Brian Hughes, who is retiring.

The new CEO is executive vice president of mortgage servicing for Amrock’s sister company, Rocket Mortgage. Her leadership was instrumental in helping Rocket Mortgage clients navigate the pandemic, according to the company. She has worked with Rocket Companies for 18 years.

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Ubitquity partnered with South Florida-based HeightZero Real Estate & Consulting, LLC, as an adviser to expand its SmartEscrow platform. HeightZero is a global real estate service specializing in AI and blockchain solutions, including conducting transactions with cryptocurrency.

The partnership aims to bring potential title, escrow, and banking customers to the SmartEscrow platform ecosystem.

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RedfinNow, the iBuying service from Redfin, launched in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area. The Twin Cities are the 12th market RedfinNow has entered this year.

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Stewart Title hired a 26-year title industry veteran as its new senior division president for Texas. He will oversee the state’s direct operations.

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According to ATTOM’s Home Equity & Underwater Report, 39.5 percent of mortgaged residential properties were considered equity-rich in the third quarter, up from 34.4 percent in the second quarter and from 28.3 percent a year ago.

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Old Republic International Corp. (ORI) reported a 32 percent year-over-year increase in net income in the third quarter, excluding investment gains and losses of $240 million, or $0.79 per share.

In the company’s title segment, net premiums and fees earned increased by over 33 percent year-over-year, according to its third-quarter earnings report.

Read on for more from ORI’s third-quarter earnings report.

First American Data & Analytics, a division of First American Financial Corp, added 3D mapping functionality to DataTree, its real estate research solution.

DataTree users now have enhanced visualization capabilities for 150 million residential properties. The 3D enhancement will make the platform more useful to real estate investors, builders, utility companies, and surveyors, according to First American.

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ReverseVision hired a chief revenue officer, a newly created position which will oversee sales, business development and marketing efforts as the company expands its footprint in the mortgage industry.

ReverseVision, founded in 2007, provides Home Equity Conversion Mortgage and private reverse mortgage sales and origination technology and has been the leading reverse mortgage technology provider since its founding in 2007, according to the company.

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Stewart Title named an attorney with more than 17 years of real estate experience in the South Florida market as vice president and South Florida commercial agency manager.

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Proptech company Spruce named its first head of customer experience and head of service delivery. The new hires are part of the company’s investment in customer service, according to Spruce.

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The supply of the country’s most affordable homes jumped a record 13 percent year-over-year in the third quarter, according to a recent Redfin report. The company attributes the gain to mortgage forbearance programs ending, prompting many owners of low-cost homes to put their properties on the market.

Read on for more from the report.

Inspire Escrow Services launched in the Inland Empire area in southern California. The escrow service offers comprehensive services for residential customers, commercial and industrial clients, short sales, business sales, agricultural-related escrow and 1031 exchange transactions.

Inspire Escrow Services is licensed and regulated by California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and bonded by the Escrow Agents Fidelity Corp. (EAFC.)

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Rocket Companies CEO Jay Farner said in the company’s third-quarter earnings report call that Rocket Homes is currently testing an iBuying program. The program involves partnering with multiple third-party iBuyers, he said.

Rocket Homes announced the initiative in August with a slate of other services, saying the programs would be launched throughout the remainder of 2021 and into early 2022.

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In October, 49 percent (seasonally adjusted) of small-business owners reported job openings they could not fill, according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report.

A net 44 percent (seasonally adjusted) of owners reported raising compensation, up two points from September and a 48-year record high reading.

Read on for more from the National Federation of Independent Business report.

Visionet Systems announced the integration of AtClose with the X1 Analytics data analytics engine. The integration provides AtClose users direct access to X1 Analytics products and services without leaving the platform.

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More than a third (34 percent) of those who moved during the pandemic live in a home where only one adult has a full-time job, according to a recent Redfin report. Before the pandemic, 29 percent lived in a single-family household.

Read on for more from the report.

Foreclosure filings in October increased 5 percent month-over-month and 76 percent year-over-year, according to ATTOM’s October 2021 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. Foreclosure starts were up 5 percent month-over-month and 115 percent year-over-year.

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Tampa Bay, Fla.-based Title & Abstract Agency of America acquired Master Title Service, Inc., based in New Port Richey, Fla. The acquisition gives Title & Abstract’s national clients a broader geographic footprint in the Florida market, according to the company president.

The Master Title president and team will continue to provide day-to-day support to clients.

Read on for more about the acquisition.

Texas-based TitleLogix Solutions acquired D&D Tax Service, based in Houston. The acquisition will allow TitleLogix to add more services to its title insurance industry offerings, according to the company.

TitleLogix also implemented its tax certificate production platform, which the company said provides the industry flexibility and new production options.

Read on for more about the announcements.

Truly Title, Inc., launched Truly Esquire (Truly ESQ), a cloud-based software designed specifically for real estate attorneys to handle their title work in one platform.

Read on for more about the new offering.

Construction finance platform Built Technologies named the company’s first president. The newly created role leads Built’s business units and product organization.

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Profit margins on median-priced single-family home and condo sales during this year’s third quarter jumped to 47.6 percent, the highest level since the end of the Great Recession a decade ago, according to ATTOM’s 2021 U.S. Home Sales Report.

Read on for more from the report.

Title Alliance named an underwriting counsel for the western division. She will be the first point of contact regarding transactional matters including contract issues, earnest money disputes, title questions and complex escrow-related matters.

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Workflow automation provider Clarifire named a 30-year financial services veteran to the company’s advisory board.

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Avanze has named a 22-year mortgage industry veteran senior vice president of compliance and training. She said she is excited to join Avanze, which is transforming how the post-closing process is done.

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Agents National Title Insurance Co., an Incenter firm, named an underwriting counsel for Texas. She has 10 years of experience in real estate and probate law.

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