News By Edition

In an exclusive interview with The Title Report, Stavvy leaders Kosta Ligris and Eric Rachmel discuss the company’s recent acquisition of mortgage servicing technology company Brace, which was founded by Rachmel.

The duo says integration of services like remote online notarization and providing ways to simplify underwriting processes will be two prominent benefits of the deal.

Read on to find out more information.

Sam Trimble, vice president of strategic partnerships for MyHome, provided insight on powerful branding and marketing during this summer’s National Settlement Services Summit (NS3).

Proper use of social media, how to respond to a bad client experience and staying ahead of market changes were just a few topics discussed by Trimble and several audience members.

Read on to find out more information.

Truly Title, Inc., has added two new owners and partners to its team, promoting a pair of presidents of operations who were overseeing business in Texas and Utah.

Leaders said the move is meant to secure ownership for the future as well as contribute to nationwide service aspirations. Truly Title now operates offices in six states.

Read on to find out more information.

A recent Series B raise garnered $20 million for wire fraud protection provider CertifID, with the company reportedly doubling its customer base over the past year. 

According to the FBI, the real estate sector experienced a 72 percent surge in business email compromise, one of the most common tactics used in wire fraud, from 2020 to 2022.

Read on to learn more.

AccuTitle has appointed a new president, a fresh leadership structure aimed at enhancing the company’s market footprint.

Read on to learn more.

First National Title Insurance Co., named a new Florida region manager and vice president who will focus on the company’s underwriting services with current agents.

Read on to find out more.

The drought of new listings abated slightly in August, despite high mortgage rates, while a late-summer slowdown grips the housing market, according to new data from Zillow.

Read on to find out more.

Clear Title Agency of Arizona acquired a long-time provider of title and escrow services in the Phoenix metro area, the companies recently announced.

The acquisition adds four new locations to Clear Title’s state footprint as well as more than 1,000 customer accounts, adding up to a top-10 market share in the Phoenix metro area.

Read on to find out more information.

The 102^nd annual Pennsylvania Land Title Association Convention takes place Sept. 10-12 in Bedford Springs, Pa., welcoming a large group of title, escrow and real estate professionals.

The Title Report will be on-hand to provide live updates as well as sit down with experts to go over industry issues at hand.

Read on to find out more information.

New reporting from the Federal Reserve System’s Beige Book shows modest economic growth across most districts in July and August compared with the prior reporting period.

Most districts reported still-subdued home sales, attributing that result to elevated interest rates and inventory still outpaced by demand. Job growth remained subdued nationwide.

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Michigan-based Transnation Title Agency announced the promotions of two long-time employees to the positions of chief residential officer and chief commercial officer.

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More than 1 million payments were sent through the RTP Network on Sept. 1, a new milestone for the system as banks and credit unions continue to increase real-time payment availability.

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About half of Gen Zers and millennials who don’t plan to buy a home in the near future say it’s because homes are too expensive, with nearly 20 percent of millennials believing they’ll never own a home, according to Redfin. 

Read on to find out more.

Encompass Lending Group, a Fathom Holdings, Inc. subsidiary, acquired an Austin, Texas-based operation that paves way for its first expansion into the Lone Star State.

Fathom Holdings Inc. is a national real estate services platform integrating residential brokerage, mortgage, title, insurance, and SaaS offerings to brokerages and agents.

Read on to find out more information. 

Labor quality and costs continue to be the top reported hurdles for small-business owners, according to new data from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

NFIB’s August job report shows roughly one quarter of owners planning to raise compensation within the next three months, up from just over 20 percent in July.

Read on to find out more information.

Kensington Vanguard National Land Services brought on a pair of new executive vice presidents to serve in its newly established Midwest operations.

Read on to find out more.

A new partnership between FundingShield and Tata Consultancy Services aims to expand access to wire fraud protection solutions within the financial services industry.

Read on to learn more.

A clear majority of people in each region of the United States consider at least one climate risk when shopping for a home, according to new data from Zillow.

Read on to find out more.

Chigago-based underwriter Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, Inc., has rebranded as Advocus National Title Insurance, Co., which comes with plans to expand into two new states.

Advocus National Title Insurance Co. has a title agency, Advocus Title Agency, that is licensed to do business in 41 states. Leaders said they hope the rebrand helps avoid name confusion and licensing obstacles.

Read on to find out more information.

Title marketing firm Bowe Digital appointed a new CEO and COO in addition to promoting others to enhanced roles within the company.

Duties for those newly promoted include acceleration of Bowe Digital’s enterprises, spearheading efforts to expand the company’s market share as well as strengthening client communication and relationships.

Read on to find out more.

First American Financial Group’s title insurance subsidiaries have received positive ratings from Fitch Ratings, showing a strong and stable financial outlook.

As with other recent financial affirmations for large underwriters conducted by Fitch, the firm specified that recent years with historic operating results should not be viewed as a new standard.

Read on to learn more information.

InspectHOA is launching a municipal lien search package, with included services such as identification of involved management companies and direct communication with municipalities.

Read on to find out more.

Ubitquity, LLC, released version 3.0 of its NFTitle platform, promising improved user interfaces, search functionality, minting speed and tracking of token lifecycles.

The company also announced multiple platform integrations aimed at expanding the reach, overall performance, scalability and accessibility of NFTitle.

Read on to learn more information.

Redfin reports investor market share is down to 16 percent after hitting an all-time high of 20 percent in the first quarter of 2022.

Read on to learn more.

Knight Barry Title has appointed a new CEO and president as well as fresh accounting leadership. The new CEO, Chief Operating Officer Craig Haskins, shared his reaction to the move in an exclusive interview with The Title Report.

Haskins reflects on his 27-year tenure with Knight Barry as well as shares his top priorities as CEO.

Read on to find out more information.

Cleveland-based title insurance and settlement provider Mortgage Information Services, Inc. is opening a new office in Fort Worth, Texas.

The new division will be led by a 25-year title and escrow veteran. Leaders said Texas clients can expect a seamless integration of existing MIS services offered in other states.

Read on to find out more information.

CATIC, the leading subsidiary of CATIC Financial, Inc., and CATIC Title Insurance Co.  earned ratings affirming their financial strength from Kroll Bond Rating Agency, the companies recently announced.

Evaluators said CATIC’s market presence, strong premium growth, revenue generation, reduction in excess exposure through reinsurance, favorable scale, conservative balance sheet and liquidity played into its ratings.

Read on to learn more.

A new regional agency manager for Utah, Colorado and Texas has been appointed by Real Advantage Title Insurance, Co.

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Denver-based title software provider Settlor launched a new website, which features demo requests, career opportunities and a portal to set up meetings with staff members.

Read on to find out more.

New Zillow research finds the share of first-time homebuyers has hit 50 percent, the highest level in years, and up from 37 percent in 2021.

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A long-tenured Florida attorney and her former employee have partnered to launch Secure Title & Escrow Services, LLC in Boca Raton, Fla.

With a combined 50 years of industry experience, the ownership duo will offer residential and commercial services as well as mobile notary and remote online notarization functionality.

Read on to find out more information.

Compass, Inc. showed year-over-year declines in revenue and transaction volume in its second quarter earnings report. However, the company registered a national market share gain for the third straight quarter.

Leaders also spoke of plans for a broader rollout of the company’s title and escrow business integration into its existing tech platform.

Read on to find out more information.

Stewart Information Services Corp.’s title insurance subsidiaries have earned positive operating marks from Fitch Ratings, which call the companies’ financial outlooks “strong.”

Fitch Ratings also called several consecutive years of historic operating results driven by historically low interest rates and a strong housing market “unsustainable” for Stewart and the title industry.

Read on to learn more.

A new report from Generes & Associates shows the firm helped title, settlement and escrow clients avoid more than $400,000 in potential fines so far in 2023.

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It’s likely that mortgage rates continue to hover in the 6.5 percent-to-7.5 percent range for the remainder of the year, which means affordability will remain a challenge for many homebuyers, according to First American Financial Corp.

Read on to learn more.

Pending home sales have stabilized following months of steep declines, but homebuyer demand remains below pre-pandemic levels, according to new Redfin data.

Read on to find out more.