News By Edition

First American Financial Corp. said in a Jan. 3 update that its network and employee email system have been restored following a late December cybersecurity incident.

The Title Report talked to several industry cybersecurity experts for their take on the latest such incident.

Read on for more.

Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. is adding two more Central region states to its service area, with an industry veteran tapped to lead the expansion.

Company leaders said in addition to strengthening Westcor’s service scope, the strategic move will bring more resources to agents in the newly added states.

Read on to find out more information.

Homeowner engagement platform Milestones will be put to use moving forward by Williston Financial Group (WFG), a move aimed at helping WFG customers manage their homes.

Milestones offers resources within its portals for understanding home value and building wealth, scheduling home maintenance, maintaining a directory of local home repair professionals, and more.

Read on to find out more.

Alanna.ai’s new digital smart form allows title agencies to automate paper data entry processes, eliminating paper forms from the buyer-seller information gathering process for real estate closings.

The product aims to speed up what could be a days-long closing process and eliminate paper forms that can bottleneck title workflow.

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The Clearing House appointed a new strategic program manager for its RTP instant payment network, the latest of multiple leadership changes this year.

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Labor quality remains a top concern for small-business owners, with nearly a quarter reporting it as their top issue, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

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Nationwide, there are fewer homebuyers looking to relocate than a year ago due to elevated mortgage rates and high housing costs, but metros like Nashville remain a top migration destination.

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Stewart Title filed a petition for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against Qualia Software over Stewart’s license and services agreement for Resware.

In the petition filed with the District Court of Harris County, Texas, Stewart seeks to prevent Qualia from revoking or terminating the agreement originally entered between Stewart Title and Adeptive Software in 2015. Resware's general manager provided a statement to The Title Report. 

Read on for more details.

Radian Group, Inc. announced an improved company score on the 2023-2024 Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, which evaluates nearly 1,400 U.S. businesses.

In late 2022, Radian released its first internal report on companywide diversity, equity and inclusion, showing improvements in many categories including board of directors’ representation.

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Stewart subsidiary NotaryCam earned approval from the Illinois Department of Secretary of State to provide remote online notarization (RON) and eNotary services in the state.

Currently, 44 states have enacted laws allowing permanent access to RON, according to the American Land Title Association. NotaryCam earned approval in Delaware in October.

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Mortgage services provider ServiceLink has brought on three new national sales executives, all with lengthy careers in the industry as well as leadership experience.

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RamQuest announced upgrades to its Account Verification Services program, which leaders said aim to provide a smoother user experience.

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A new report from property data curator ATTOM shows what counties’ housing markets are most likely to face a downturn. Such areas were especially concentrated in California, New Jersey and Illinois.

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South Carolina-based real estate law firm Blair Cato Pickren Casterline, LCC found itself dealing with effects of Fidelity National Financial’s late-November cybersecurity incident just as it was changing a crucial software system.

Firm co-founder Cynthia Blair shared how she and colleagues overcame the situation with The Title Report, stressing the importance of contingency planning and being unafraid to utilize unconventional solutions.

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Kentucky-based Millennial Title has turned to non-fungible tokens (NFTs)and the blockchain to promote the sale of a Florida beachfront property.

Leaders said tokenization of the property as an NFT facilitates fractional ownership, allowing potential buyers to acquire a share of the property even if they are unable to purchase it entirely.

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Artificial intelligence-powered attacks will accelerate cybercrime and cyber insurance will be harder to get in 2024, according to a new report from cybersecurity vendor Netwrix.

With successful cyberattacks leading to increasing payouts, insurers will require more organizations to have strong security measures in place to qualify for a policy or to reduce premiums, the report states.

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Mortgage point-of-sale provider Floify appointed a new head of marketing who will help lead communication and company innovation in mortgage lender and broker products.

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DocMagic and Vesta, a new mortgage loan origination system and software-as-a-service company, have integrated systems to aid automated document generation and regulatory compliance.

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New analysis from property data curator ATTOM shows the best days and months of the year to buy a home as well as which states offer the biggest discounts.

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Matt Sargent, chief deposit and treasury management officer for Luminate Bank, spoke with The Title Report during ALTA ONE about spearheading tech initiatives and instant payment systems. 

He detailed how financial institutions are walking a fine line with artificial intelligence implementation in terms of balancing innovation and risk, and he discussed the differences between newly implemented instant payment systems.

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Upgrades to Rocket Mortgage’s Pathfinder tool leverage generative artificial intelligence technology to provide information for loan officers and underwriters while helping buyers purchase their new home.

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New reporting from the Federal Reserve System’s Beige Book shows a slowdown in nationwide economic activity as the end of 2023 looms.

Commercial real estate activity continued to slow in the latest reporting period, with the office segment remaining weak and multifamily activity softened. Several districts noted a slight decrease in residential sales.

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Flueid is welcoming a new chief financial officer and elevating a current employee to the role of chief technology officer, the company announced.

Leaders said the moves aim to bring a diverse and strategic mindset to help propel the company’s vision of streamlining the real estate life cycle with its verification of title solutions.

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Skyline Lien Search has brought on a new senior vice president of national sales, part of continued efforts to expand the company’s national footprint.

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The median monthly mortgage payment has declined more than $150 from its peak to its lowest level in three months while new housing listings are also increasing, according to Redfin.

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Proper Title’s Sabrina Bier and Jayne Corcoran led an interactive engagement lab entitled “Customize Your Marketing Strategies” at ALTA ONE 2023, showing ways to best reach desired client demographics and integrate a company’s messaging into social media.

The duo offered insight on how to best refine ’existing marketing practices while customizing messaging to resonate more effectively with clients.

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Title and settlement services franchise business TitleEase announced it has earned escrow and title agency licensure in the state of Arizona.

TitleEase was launched in 2021 by the Lincoln Family of Companies and, in addition to Arizona, has expanded into states including New York, Florida, Michigan and Rhode Island.

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Leaders from Ubitquity, LLC and Tierra Chain recently shared their opinions on the merits of tokenization of the real estate and title industry, offering a counter perspective to industry members who’ve expressed apprehension.

Supporters of tokenization of real estate assets say a commitment to regulatory compliance and a focus on decentralization, security, and transparency has the potential to revolutionize the industry.

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First National Title Insurance Co. has brought on a new Texas agency manager, appointing an industry veteran with more than two decades of experience.

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Wholesale Title Solutions said its new integration with Qualia’s products marks a new modernization for the title industry, dramatically increasing the efficiency and speed of title searches.

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Affordability will remain a challenge in 2024, but Zillow expects homebuyers to have more options and a bit more financial breathing room.

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After Fidelity National Financial Inc. reported in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission it was the victim of a cybersecurity incident, Cloudstar CEO Gregory McDonald spoke exclusively with The Title Report about what might be happening in response.  

McDonald said data security and forensic experts are going to help triage and “stop the bleeding” while isolating where the threat is coming from.

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Fathom Holdings Inc.’s third quarter earnings report shows a revenue decline from the third quarter of 2022 but growth in its real estate agent network amid multiple recent acquisitions.

Fathom completed approximately 10,303 real estate transactions in the third quarter 2023, a 14.7 percent decrease relative to the third quarter 2022.

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PropLogix’s 2023 “State of the Title Industry” Report shows “juggling too many responsibilities” as the chief concern among more than 400 respondents.

The survey focused on how industry trends impact title professionals’ responsibilities, title production and outsourcing practices. Data shows the most outsourced title production piece to be municipal lien searches.

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Title Resources Group has made two additions to its board of directors, appointing a long-time industry chief financial officer and chief executive officer.

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Pythonic Corp. is integrating its automated closing disclosure review and processing services with SoftPro 360, company leaders announced.

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New data from ATTOM shows foreclosure starts down 7 percent month-over-month in October, while completed foreclosures declined less than 1 percent compared to September.

Read on to learn more.