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The Title Report Print Edition
December 6, 2021
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Do your homework before considering M&A deal
Posted Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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FNF’s title segment has another record quarter
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2021
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.
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Survey shows how industry adapted to pandemic
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Redfin expands brokerage to second-home destinations
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2021
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.
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Paymints.io launches MuniPay for title agencies
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Paymints.io launched MuniPay, an enhancement to its proprietary disbursement engine, to simplify payments from title agencies to municipalities.
Read on for more.
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Fidelity names SVP of investor and external relations
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2021
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.
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How will the market fare as mortgage rates rise?
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Stewart acquires Las Cruces Abstract and Title
Posted Date: Friday, November 19, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Amrock names new CEO
Posted Date: Friday, November 19, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Ubitquity partners with HeightZero Real Estate & Consulting
Posted Date: Friday, November 19, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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RedfinNow launches in the Twin Cities
Posted Date: Friday, November 19, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Stewart Title hires Texas senior division president
Posted Date: Friday, November 19, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Home values hit new high in third quarter
Posted Date: Friday, November 19, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Old Republic title group sees 33 percent revenue increase
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2021
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.
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3D mapping added to First American’s DataTree
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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ReverseVision names chief revenue officer
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Stewart names South Florida commercial agency manager
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Spruce expands senior staff
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Affordable homes supply sees record gain as forbearance ends
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2021
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.
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Inspire Escrow Services launches in California
Posted Date: Friday, November 12, 2021
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.)
Read on for more.
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Rocket Homes testing iBuying program
Posted Date: Friday, November 12, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Staff shortage spurs record percentage of owners to raise pay
Posted Date: Friday, November 12, 2021
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.
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Visionet Systems integrates AtClose with X1 Analytics engine
Posted Date: Friday, November 12, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Single-income households on the rise
Posted Date: Friday, November 12, 2021
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.
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Foreclosures continue to increase
Posted Date: Friday, November 12, 2021
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.
Read on for more from the report.
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Title & Abstract acquires Master Title
Posted Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
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.
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TitleLogix Solutions acquires D&D Tax Service
Posted Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
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.
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Truly Title unveils attorney software for Chicago market
Posted Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
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.
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Built Technologies names president
Posted Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
Construction finance platform Built Technologies named the company’s first president. The newly created role leads Built’s business units and product organization.
Read on for more.
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House seller profits soar in third quarter
Posted Date: Thursday, November 11, 2021
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.
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Title Alliance names western division underwriting counsel
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 9, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Clarifire names advisory board member
Posted Date: Friday, November 5, 2021
Workflow automation provider Clarifire named a 30-year financial services veteran to the company’s advisory board.
Read on for more.
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Avanze names SVP of compliance and training
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 2, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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Agents National Title names Texas underwriting counsel
Posted Date: Tuesday, November 2, 2021
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.
Read on for more.
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