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Blefari cites HomeServices’ leadership culture as key to success
Posted Date: Friday, October 8, 2021
HomeServices of America CEO Gino Blefari oversees the world’s largest residential real estate brokerage company, based on its number of transactions. All told, HomeServices owns 30 brokerage companies and 50 brands including Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, as well as a national mortgage company, a network of title and escrow operations, a property and casualty insurance company, and a global relocation company for corporate clients.
Blefari attributes the company’s success to its value-based, purpose-driven leadership culture. He explained that culture during his keynote address at NS3.
Read on for more.
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Industry veteran opens New Dawn Title Group
Posted Date: Friday, October 8, 2021
A title industry veteran has opened New Dawn Title Group, headquartered in Miami, with offices in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties that serve South Florida.
The new company’s team can facilitate traditional closings as well as ones using remote online notarization and other mobile and flexible options for residential and commercial transactions.
Read on for more.
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Access Title Agency opens new Florida office
Posted Date: Friday, October 8, 2021
Access Title Agency opened a new office in Cape Coral, Fla., which will serve Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, and surrounding areas.
Cape Coral is Access Title’s third location in Southwest Florida. With the expansion, Access Title and H. B. Wilkinson Title, the parent company of Access Title, has 10 locations.
Read on for more.
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CATIC expands to South Carolina
Posted Date: Friday, October 8, 2021
CATIC is now licensed in South Carolina and has begun operations there, with agents issuing title insurance policies and providing related services. The CATIC Family of Companies is now licensed in every state east of the Mississippi and in Texas.
Read on for more about the expansion.
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House-buying bump lifts market potential
Posted Date: Friday, October 8, 2021
First American’s Potential Home Sales Model for August showed potential existing-home sales increased to a 6.40 million seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR), a 0.05 percent month-over-month increase. The market potential for existing-home sales increased 9.9 percent compared with a year ago, a gain of 575,700 (SAAR) sales.
Read on for First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming’s analysis of the report.
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Realogy selling controlling interest in its title underwriter
Posted Date: Thursday, October 7, 2021
Realogy Holdings Corp. formed a strategic agreement to create a title insurance underwriter joint venture with an investment from funds affiliated with Centerbridge Partners, L.P. Under the agreement, Centerbridge will purchase controlling interest of Realogy’s title insurance underwriter for $210 million.
Realogy will maintain its ownership of Realogy Title Group, which includes its national title and settlement services and mortgage origination joint venture.
Read on for more about the agreement.
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WFG survey: Transaction turnaround time tops industry concerns
Posted Date: Thursday, October 7, 2021
More than half of the industry leaders surveyed by the Williston Financial Group (WFG) identified transaction turnaround times as the top operational challenge facing the industry.
That’s a marked increase from WFG’s first survey in the fall of 2020, when only a quarter of those surveyed picked turnaround times as a major challenge.
Read on for more from the survey.
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First American names chief legal officer
Posted Date: Thursday, October 7, 2021
First American Financial Corp. named a senior vice president, chief legal officer. She previously served as the company’s deputy general counsel, litigation, and as chief privacy officer.
She also is an influential industry voice who serves on the American Land Title Association’s executive steering committee on data privacy.
Read on for more about the new chief legal officer.
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First American expands RON availability with Notarize
Posted Date: Thursday, October 7, 2021
First American Title Insurance Co. expanded remote online notarization (RON) availability with the company’s preferred RON platform, Notarize. First American now offers title insurance on RON-executed real estate transactions in 32 states, with more states to follow.
Read on for more.
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Home affordability drops in third quarter
Posted Date: Thursday, October 7, 2021
Median-priced single-family homes were less affordable in the third quarter compared with historical averages in 75 percent of counties analyzed, according to ATTOM’s third-quarter 2021 U.S. Home Affordability Report. That’s up from 56 percent of counties a year ago, to the highest point in 13 years.
Read on for more.
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Report: Most homebuyers submit only two offers
Posted Date: Thursday, October 7, 2021
Despite anecdotes to the contrary, most homebuyers still tour homes in person, don’t waive inspection contingencies and submitted just two offers before one was accepted, according to Zillow’s Consumer Housing Trends Report.
Read on for more from the report.
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Stewart acquires two Northern California agents
Posted Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Stewart Title acquired Stewart Title of Sacramento (STS) and Stewart Title of Placer (STP), independent branded agents of Stewart Title Guaranty Co. which serve the Greater Sacramento area. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
STS and STP have a combined 13 branches, strengthening Stewart’s market presence in Northern California, according to the Stewart Group president.
Read on for more about the acquisitions.
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ALTA hopes new CFPB director addresses title fee disclosures
Posted Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2021
The American Land Title Association (ALTA) is looking forward to working with new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, according to ALTA CEO Diane Tomb.
ALTA hopes to see Chopra’s CFPB address mortgage disclosures – specifically the disclosure of title insurance fees – as well as consumer data privacy and third-party oversight, she said.
Read on for more from Tomb.
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Equity National Title names COO
Posted Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Providence, R.I.-based national title and settlement services provider Equity National Title named a new chief operating officer (COO).
The industry veteran has decades of experience overseeing people and implementing optimal operational systems. She will manage the day-to-day operations of the business and the company’s critical systems, technology, and production processes.
Read on for more about the COO.
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ROC Title adds Nevada vice president
Posted Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2021
ROC Title named a 30-year industry veteran as its new vice president, Nevada state manager.
Read on for more.
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Relocation interest dips slightly
Posted Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Redfin reported 30 percent of its users looked to move to a different metro area in July and August, down slightly from 31.1 percent in the second quarter but up from 28.7 percent a year ago. The slight dip coincides with the slowdown in the overall housing market.
Read on for more.
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Market expected to remain stable as foreclosure moratorium ends
Posted Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2021
Housing inventory is on the rise and expected to come primarily from sales by existing homeowners (40 percent), according to real estate experts who took part in the latest Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey. The smallest source of inventory will be foreclosures (5.4 percent), surveyed real estate experts said.
Read on for more.
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Senate confirms Chopra as CFPB director
Posted Date: Friday, October 1, 2021
Many industry experts believe the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will adopt a more activist role under new Director Rohit Chopra, who was instrumental in the bureau’s creation following the 2010 passage of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Chopra is a former Federal Trade Commission commissioner who is closely aligned with Sen. Elizabeth Warren and who served as the bureau’s first student loan ombudsman.
Our story on Chopra’s confirmation is available to all readers.
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Compass to acquire two more title companies
Posted Date: Thursday, September 30, 2021
Compass announced its second and third title company acquisitions in September. The company signed an agreement to acquire First Alliance Title LLC, which serves the Denver metro area, and CommonGround Abstract, LLC, which serves Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Earlier in September, the company acquired the Dallas-Fort Worth-based title company, LegacyTexas Title.
Read on for more about the latest acquisitions.
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Lincoln Family of Companies launches title franchise
Posted Date: Thursday, September 30, 2021
The Lincoln Family of Companies launched a title and settlement services franchise business to provide a streamlined and fully compliant path for mortgage originators, servicers, and real estate professionals to own and operate a title agency.
The fully RESPA-compliant franchise model eliminates several compliance risks associated with entering into a joint venture agreement, according to the company.
Read on for more.
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Opendoor expands to Ohio, Washington, D.C.
Posted Date: Thursday, September 30, 2021
Opendoor recently launched in three new markets: Washington, D.C., and Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.
The residential real estate platform has reached the 100,000-transaction mark and doubled its market footprint in less than a year, according to the company. Opendoor now operates in 44 markets across the country.
Read on for more about the company’s expansion.
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TitleTap partners with Bank Shot app
Posted Date: Thursday, September 30, 2021
Online marketer TitleTap has partnered with the Bank Shot app to help customers streamline how they market their online real estate and legal payment capabilities, features and benefits on their website.
Read on for more.
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Demand for second homes continues drop
Posted Date: Thursday, September 30, 2021
Demand for second homes dropped 19.3 percent year-over-year in August, the third straight month of declines, according to a Redfin report. Still, interest in vacation homes will likely remain above pre-pandemic levels due to the shift to remote work, according to Redfin.
Read on for more.
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Fitch upgrades First American’s rating outlook to positive
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Fitch Ratings affirmed First American Financial Group’s subsidiaries’ insurer financial strength (IFS) ratings of ‘A’ (strong) and affirmed its long-term issuer default rating (IDR) of ‘BBB+’ and senior unsecured debt rating of ‘BBB.’
Fitch also revised the rating outlook for First American and its subsidiaries to positive from stable.
Read on for more from Fitch Ratings.
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Alliant National adds South Carolina agency manager
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Alliant National Title Insurance Co. added a South Carolina agency manager. Her day-to-day responsibilities will include signing, developing, marketing, and managing the company’s agents in the state.
Read on for more.
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Housing market seasonality may weaken
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Housing market seasonality may be less defined in the future, even once the acute effects of the pandemic recede, according to First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi.
Read on for more.
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Home value appreciation slows slightly
Posted Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Monthly home value appreciation slowed in August for the first time since January, according to a Zillow report. Even so, it remains at near-record levels.
Read on for more.
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Bennett Thrasher adds chief growth officer
Posted Date: Friday, September 24, 2021
Accounting and consulting firm Bennett Thrasher added a new chief growth officer.
Working directly with the partner leadership team, he will help to enhance growth strategies and business development processes that drive revenue in the market and will have a direct impact on the company’s continued investment in specialty tax and other advisory services, according to Bennet Thrasher.
Read on for more about the new chief growth officer.
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Doma appoints Louisiana agency manager
Posted Date: Friday, September 24, 2021
Doma (formerly known as North American Title Insurance Co.) added a 20-year industry veteran as an agency manager for Louisiana. She is responsible for servicing independent title agent and attorney customers and securing new business for Doma Underwriting.
Read on for more.
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FUGO names VP, client relations and sales
Posted Date: Friday, September 24, 2021
Texas-based FUGO, a back-office company serving title companies, is expanding its management team. It appointed a vice president, client relations and sales.
Read on for more.
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WFG names vice president of strategic growth
Posted Date: Thursday, September 23, 2021
WFG National Title Insurance Co. named a 25-year industry veteran as vice president of strategic growth. He will play a key role in WFG’s expansion within the Southern Texas title market.
Read on for more.
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