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Old Republic has record-setting year
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Old Republic International Corp. reported a pretax income of $335.1 million for the fourth quarter, a 20.7 percent year-over-year increase, and $1.16 billion for the full year, a 40.2 percent year-over-year increase. It’s the first time Old Republic passed the $1 billion mark, according to the CEO.
The title segment posted an all-time high for quarterly underwriting revenue, according to fourth-quarter earnings report.
Read on for more.
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Fathom Realty launches CRM technology platform
Posted Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022
Fathom Realty LLC, a subsidiary of Fathom Holdings, is launching intelliAgent 2.0, the company’s next-generation technology platform designed to simplify all aspects of brokerage operations and agent transaction management.
intelliAgent 2.0 features an enhanced customer relationship management (CRM) system and new marketing resources for building and customizing personalized websites, sending video messages and launching multiplatform marketing campaigns.
Read on for more.
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Proliant Settlement Systems to use paymints.io
Posted Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022
Proliant Settlement Systems, a turnkey title company ownership system, will deploy paymints.io technology among its title agency franchisees.
The digital platform is designed to allow homebuyers to transfer funds for earnest money deposits or cash to close directly from their bank accounts to the franchisee’s escrow account. The franchisee can also disburse funds to clients or vendors.
Read on for more.
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Title Alliance names Pennsylvania general manager
Posted Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022
Title Alliance named a new general manager of Pennsylvania. She will be accountable for profitability metrics and oversee all new joint venture launches.
Read on for more.
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Vanguard Title adds account manager
Posted Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022
Michigan-based Vanguard Title added a 10-year industry veteran as an account executive. His primary responsibilities will include managing accounts and ensuring clients are able to close quickly.
Read on for more.
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Homeseller profits soared to new records in 2021
Posted Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022
Homesellers realized a $94,092 profit on the typical sale in 2021, up 45 percent from $64,931 in 2020 and up 71 percent from $55,000 two years ago, according to an ATTOM report. Profits rose in more than 90 percent of housing markets ATTOM analyzed.
Read on for more.
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Whatcom Land Title names new CEO, president
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Washington state-based Whatcom Land Title Co. started 2022 by naming a new CEO and president. The owner and previous CEO will remain involved with the company, supporting client relationships, its company culture and strategic direction.
Whatcom Land Title also named a new chief title underwriter, title department manager and director of client services.
Read on for more.
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Snapdocs eClosing system achieves MISMO certification
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Snapdocs’ eClosing system has been certified as compliant with the MISMO eClosing system certification requirements. Snapdocs is the first – and currently only – eClosing provider to achieve this certification, according to the company.
The MISMO eClosing System Certification provides settlement service agents assurance that a company’s platform, policies, and procedures have met or exceeded industry requirements.
Read on for more.
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Ascendant National Title names VP
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Ascendant National Title named a 20-year industry veteran as vice president, national sales. In the new role, he will be responsible for seeking and supporting new clients for the company’s title and closing services.
Read on for more.
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Rising rates may spur early start to spring homebuying
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Real house prices in November 2021 increased 21 percent year-over-year, according to the First American Real Price Index. Housing affordability is likely to decline even more in 2022, First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming said, because both mortgage rates and nominal house prices are expected to rise.
Read on for more from Fleming.
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Are we in a housing bubble? Depends who you ask
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2022
Historically fast home-price growth has homebuyers and sellers worried we are in a housing bubble. But Redfin’s chief economist says rising mortgage rates and buyers who can afford their homes are preventing a bubble.
Read on for more.
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Merger to create Legacy Title & Escrow
Posted Date: Friday, January 28, 2022
Legacy Counsellors, P.C. and Gove Law Office plan to merge their firms to expand the estate and tax planning and real estate services they offer clients in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The merger will also create a new division of Legacy Title & Escrow to handle residential and commercial real estate transactions.
Read on for more about the merger.
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Ubitquity launches real estate crypto-payment solution
Posted Date: Friday, January 28, 2022
Ubitquity LLC launched the UbitquityPay solution and website, an online portal that facilitates cryptocurrency payments for real estate transactions, to be used by homebuyers, title companies, underwriters and lenders.
Features of UbitquityPay include a blockchain explorer preview of funds, escrow theft mitigation, next-day settlements and custodial wallets, and it supports dozens of cryptocurrencies, according to the company.
Read on for more.
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Millennial Title opens third Kentucky office
Posted Date: Friday, January 28, 2022
Millennial Title opened an office in Somerset, Ky. It’s the agency’s ninth office overall and its third in Kentucky.
The office will be managed by a market manager who has extensive knowledge of the real estate transaction process, serving as a title clerk in a local law firm and earning her real estate license in 2015.
Read on for more about Millennial Title’s newest office.
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Title Resources Guaranty boosts underwriting team
Posted Date: Friday, January 28, 2022
Title Resources Guaranty Co. named a Texas underwriting counsel. She has been in the Texas title industry for eight years, handling title insurance litigation.
Read on for more.
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ChainLogix reaches automation milestone in Florida
Posted Date: Friday, January 28, 2022
Florida-based ChainLogix reached a milestone with its property tax reporting platform TaxLogix, which uses robotic process automation. It has automated 65 of 67 Florida counties, with over 25,000 automated property tax reports processed.
Read on for more.
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Housing inventory down 40 percent from pre-COVID levels
Posted Date: Friday, January 28, 2022
December homebuyers had 19.5 percent fewer homes to choose from than they did a year before, according to a recent Zillow market report. There are now 40.5 percent fewer homes available for sale than in December 2019.
Read on for more from the Zillow report.
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Old Republic acquires Mountain View Title & Escrow
Posted Date: Thursday, January 27, 2022
Old Republic Title acquired the operating assets of Utah-based Mountain View Title & Escrow, Inc. The acquisition adds nine office locations and 86 employees to Old Republic Title’s network.
Mountain View’s founder and president has been named vice president, senior escrow officer and manager at Old Republic Title.
Read on for more about the acquisition.
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Minnesota Title names chief operating officer
Posted Date: Thursday, January 27, 2022
Minnesota Title named a 22-year industry veteran as chief operating officer (COO). She said the real estate industry has changed significantly due to the pandemic and it is imperative for successful businesses to lead with communication and transparency.
Minnesota Title is poised for expansion in 2022, according to the company.
Read on for more about the new COO.
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Memorial service to honor Calloway Title & Escrow founder
Posted Date: Thursday, January 27, 2022
Calloway Title & Escrow founder Marcus Calloway passed away in late December 2021. He is remembered for his generosity and his willingness and enthusiasm to share his time and resources to mentor and train young attorneys in Georgia and beyond.
The family is planning a memorial service, and details will be shared once they are finalized.
Read on for more about Calloway’s legacy.
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Wolters Kluwer, Floify collaborate on eClosing process
Posted Date: Thursday, January 27, 2022
Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions and Floify, a point-of-sale solution in the mortgage industry and subsidiary of Porch Group, Inc., are collaborating to integrate Wolters Kluwer eNote technology into Floify’s loan processing system through a hybrid eClosing process.
Read on for more.
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About 60 percent of home offers faced bidding wars in December
Posted Date: Thursday, January 27, 2022
Nearly 60 percent of home offers written by Redfin agents in December faced bidding wars, according to a Redfin report. Many homebuyers are writing upwards of five offers before finding success.
Read on for more.
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Millennials continue to fuel housing market
Posted Date: Thursday, January 27, 2022
The strength of the housing market is no surprise, given the ongoing wave of millennial demand fueled by historically low rates and greater geographic flexibility, according to First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming. Yet, homebuyers face a worsening housing supply shortage.
Read on for more from Fleming.
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The Real Brokerage acquires Expetitle
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Technology-driven real estate brokerage firm The Real Brokerage completed the acquisition of Expetitle, Inc. The purchase price was $8.232 million, with $7.432 million payable in cash at the closing and $800,000 subject to escrow.
Expetitle has developed a mobile app that simplifies the paper-intensive and time-intensive title and escrow process.
Read on for more about the acquisition.
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Qualia integrates Resware into Marketplace
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2022
The Resware product suite is now integrated with Qualia’s Marketplace product, allowing Resware customers to receive and manage title searches via Marketplace.
Since Qualia acquired Adeptive Software, the developers of Resware, in December 2020, the combined team has invested heavily in expanding the ResWare product line and development team, according to Qualia.
Read on for more.
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Keybox platform expands beyond EMD payments
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Fintech company Payload’s real estate platform Keybox, originally developed to digitize earnest money deposit payments, has expanded to include agent invoicing, broker/agent commissions, title closing disbursements, title and mortgage fees, and rental/property management fees.
Nearly 400 new locations signed on with Keybox in 2021, including title company Florida Agency Network.
Read on for more about the expansion.
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Associates Land Transfer creates CashToClose calculator
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Philadelphia-based Associates Land Transfer Co. (ALT) rolled out a free CashToClose calculator. It was designed to give homebuyers full knowledge of the costs they can expect, and they can use it from their smartphone.
Read on for more.
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First National Title names VP, underwriting counsel
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2022
First National Title Insurance Co. (FNTI) named a 15-year industry veteran as vice president and underwriting counsel. She will be assisting with underwriting questions from FNTI’s Texas agents.
Read on for more.
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Chicago, New York housing most at risk from pandemic
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 25, 2022
New Jersey, Illinois and parts of California had the highest concentrations of at-risk housing markets due to the pandemic in the fourth quarter, according to an ATTOM report. The biggest clusters are in New York City and Chicago.
Read on for more from the report.
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DataTrace adds over 1,000 title plants
Posted Date: Thursday, January 20, 2022
DataTrace added over 1,000 new geographic title plants across the country, almost tripling the company’s county coverage. The additions increase the company’s total number of title plants to more than 1,600, covering 80 percent of the U.S. population.
The new title plants leverage the latest AI and automation technology, according to the company.
Read on for more.
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Notarize expands leadership team
Posted Date: Thursday, January 20, 2022
Notarize appointed a new chief technology officer (CTO) and chief people officer. The CTO will drive Notarize’s product and technology strategy while elevating security across its online notarization platform, and the chief people officer will lead the HR and People department.
The new hires reinforce Notarize’s commitment to innovation, technology, and culture, according to the company.
Read on for more.
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MooveGuru offers homeownership portal franchise
Posted Date: Thursday, January 20, 2022
Proptech company MooveGuru said it is the first firm to offer franchises to real estate service providers in brokerage, title and mortgage that enable the companies to deliver a homeownership portal to homeowners to gain access to preferred local services at a discount.
Title companies are offering the service on their title closings, according to the company.
Read on for more.
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AmeriTitle names vice president
Posted Date: Thursday, January 20, 2022
AmeriTitle named a vice president of the company. She will continue to work with managers, escrow supervisors, and escrow staff throughout Idaho and eastern Oregon, and will work with Alliance Title in Twin Falls to provide support and leadership to an escrow team of over 50.
Read on for more.
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Flueid names senior vice president
Posted Date: Thursday, January 20, 2022
Real estate technology company Flueid named a senior vice president of business development, default and capital markets. He will be responsible for driving and leading sales for the company’s default and capital markets solutions.
Read on for more.
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Homes sales post largest drop since pandemic
Posted Date: Thursday, January 20, 2022
Seasonally adjusted home sales dropped 3.6 percent in December, according to Redfin. That marked the largest month-over-month sales decline since May 2020.
Read on for more.
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Stewart acquires majority interest in Great American Title
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Stewart Information Services Corp. acquired a majority interest in Great American Title Co. (GATCO), a provider of title and escrow services in the greater Houston metropolitan area with the ability to operate in 38 counties across Texas.
The GATCO chairman said by leveraging Stewart’s financial strength and tools, the company will continue to improve the transaction experience.
Read on for more about the acquisition.
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CoreLogic names interim CEO
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2022
CoreLogic appointed a new interim president and CEO. He has more than 30 years of experience in the information services industry and previously was the company’s chief operating and growth officer.
He will replace CEO Frank Martell, who is stepping down and will become non-executive chairman of the CoreLogic board.
Read on for more about the leadership change.
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Business owners cite inflation as biggest problem
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2022
More than one in five small-business owners (22 percent) reported inflation was their single most important problem encountered in operating their business, according to the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index.
That’s a 20-point increase from the beginning of 2021 and the highest level since the fourth quarter of 1981.
Read on for more from the report.
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Title Alliance appoints Arizona general manager
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Title Alliance named a general manager for Arizona. She will oversee all joint ventures in the state, ensure consistency across the company’s processes and procedures, and have ultimate accountability for profit and loss within the state.
Read on for more.
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What are best markets for first-time homebuyers?
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Unlike the two-thirds of Americans who already own a home, potential first-time homebuyers in 2021 did not benefit from the surging levels of home equity driven by rapid house price appreciation. That’s according to First American Economist Ksenia Potapov.
Read on for more.
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Zillow: Experts split on 2022 housing market
Posted Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2022
An outside panel of economists and housing experts is evenly split on whether home sales will rise or fall in 2022. In a recent Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, 41 percent of participants said sales will grow, 41 percent predict a slowdown, and 18 percent believe sales will remain roughly the same.
Read on for more from the survey.
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University Title acquires Homeland Title’s Houston division
Posted Date: Friday, January 14, 2022
University Title Co. (UTC) acquired Homeland Title Co.’s Houston division, which includes offices in Clear Lake, Hempstead, Sugar Land, and Spring, Texas.
With the acquisition, 47 Houston-based Homeland Title employees will join the UTC team, and former Homeland Title executive leaders will serve as senior vice president – operations and Houston division president.
Read on for more.
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