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First American’s DeGiorgio, Gilmore moving into new roles
Posted Date: Thursday, February 10, 2022
First American Financial Corp. announced some leadership changes. Kenneth DeGiorgio, company’s current president, has been appointed chief executive officer, and current CEO Dennis Gilmore is now the chairman of First American’s board of directors.
The current chairman of the board of directors will now serve as the board’s lead independent director.
Read on for more about the changes.
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Houwzer raises $118 million in latest investment series
Posted Date: Thursday, February 17, 2022
Philadelphia-based real estate brokerage and homeownership platform Houwzer closed a $118 million Series B financing round, which includes $18 million in equity and a $100 million warehouse line of credit that will enable the launch of three consumer products.
The funding round also will enable the company to expand within its six MSAs and add key executives.
Read on for more.
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KeyCity Capital acquires 50 percent of Texas title company
Posted Date: Thursday, February 17, 2022
Private equity firm KeyCity Capital announced the 50 percent acquisition of Texas-based Hudson Title Group LLC.
In less than two years, Hudson has grown from a team of four to 25 and has nine offices with plans to expand throughout Texas and into the southeast and Rocky Mountain west.
Read on for more about the deal.
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Title company launches Blueprint Academy
Posted Date: Thursday, February 17, 2022
Tennessee-based Blueprint Title Co. recently launched Blueprint Academy for real estate professionals. It is designed to be part knowledge base, providing specific answers to common questions, and part learning platform, where visitors can learn the ins and outs of title, closing, and transactions.
More content will be added in the coming months.
Read on for more.
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DataTrace integration accelerates title automation
Posted Date: Thursday, February 17, 2022
DataTrace Information Services LLC launched the DataTrace Digital Gateway. The single API connection allows title companies to accelerate automated title production implementation while providing access to the full suite of DataTrace products and services.
Read on for more.
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First American posts record-setting year
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2022
First American Financial Corp. earned a total revenue of $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter, a 10 percent year-over-year increase.
The company also set annual records for 2021. It earned a record $9.2 billion in total revenue, title agent premiums were a record $3.8 billion, and the title segment set a new annual record pretax margin of 16.3 percent.
Read on for details from the fourth-quarter earnings report.
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Fathom Holdings acquires Utah brokerage
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Fathom Holdings acquired Utah-based iPro Realty Network, a residential real estate brokerage company with about 435 agents that provide a full range of services for homebuyers and sellers throughout the state.
The new agents will have access to Fathom services to offer clients, including title, mortgage, and insurance services.
Read on for more about the acquisition.
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BCHH opens California escrow office
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Pittsburgh-based BCHH Inc. opened a new location in Murrieta, Calif. BCHH Escrow of California received the approval of its escrow license through the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.
BCHH Escrow of California is the company’s seventh location, including offices in Alabama, Louisiana, Nevada, Texas, and Utah.
Read on for more about the new office.
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Stewart names division president for Tennessee
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Stewart Title named the owner of a recently acquired title company as the new division president for Tennessee. She will oversee all direct operations in the state, focusing on development, customer experience, and technology adoption.
Read on for more.
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First National Title names Mid-Atlantic manager
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2022
First National Title Insurance Co. named a 20-year industry veteran as vice president, Mid-Atlantic region state agency manager. She will be responsible for support and growth in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Read on for more.
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Record number of newly built homes for sale
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2022
The share of newly built single-family homes on the market in December hit a record high, according to Redfin. Builders are trying keep up with the surging demand fueled by low mortgage rates, low inventory, and remote work.
Read on for more.
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Truist Insurance Holdings to acquire Kensington Vanguard
Posted Date: Friday, February 11, 2022
Truist Insurance Holdings, a subsidiary of Truist Financial Corp., signed a definitive agreement to acquire national title insurance agency Kensington Vanguard National Land Services. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter.
Truist’s existing title operation, BridgeTrust Title, will be integrated into the Kensington Vanguard platform.
Read on for more about the pending acquisition.
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Study finds eClose drives ROI for title agents
Posted Date: Friday, February 11, 2022
An independent study by MarketWise Advisors of the impact of eClose with remote online notarization via the Notarize platform found that eClosings produce positive ROI, as they can be closed faster, with fewer errors, and with more money saved than with in-person or legacy paper processes.
Title agents saved up to 104 minutes through eClosings, according to the study.
Read on for more.
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RamQuest enhances integration with Title Data
Posted Date: Friday, February 11, 2022
RamQuest’s Closing Market digital network integration with Title Data has been enhanced to facilitate auto-ordering.
In August 2020, RamQuest and Title Data introduced an integration that automates the uploading of commitments and policies from a RamQuest customer’s production solution to the Title Data starter library. Texas title agents can now route orders directly from their RamQuest solution to Title Data.
Read on for more.
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Doma boosts Midwest agency team
Posted Date: Friday, February 11, 2022
Doma appointed a 38-year title insurance industry veteran to its Midwest agency team. He will serve as agency manager for Indiana, northwest Kentucky, and southwest Michigan.
Read on for more.
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Connect Title names regional manager
Posted Date: Friday, February 11, 2022
Connect Title named a 20-year industry veteran as its regional manager in Cypress, Texas. The company is a member of the Knight Barry Title Group.
Read on for more.
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Home value rose $6 trillion from 2020 to 2021
Posted Date: Friday, February 11, 2022
The total value of homes surged 19 percent year-over-year to $39 trillion in December, according to Redfin. That’s the largest gain during December since at least the start of the millennium.
Read on for more from the report.
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Foundation Title acquires Knoxville title company
Posted Date: Thursday, February 10, 2022
Tennessee-based Foundation Title & Escrow Series acquired Knoxville-based Radiant Title, which has three offices. The expanded operation is planning a new office in Clinton that should be open in a few weeks.
All employees of Radiant Title, including the owner and director of operations, joined the Foundation Title & Escrow team.
Read on for more about the acquisition.
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eNotaryLog recognized in independent verification audit
Posted Date: Thursday, February 10, 2022
eNotaryLog’s remote online notarization (RON) platform has been recognized by law firm and fintech advisor DLA Piper, the legal advisor to the Electronic Signature & Records Association and a collaborator with the Mortgage Bankers Association on RON laws.
eNotaryLog is the first RON provider to be verified by DLA Piper, according to the company.
Read on for more.
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AmTrust Title names head of Florida agency sales
Posted Date: Thursday, February 10, 2022
AmTrust Title Insurance Co. appointed a 30-year title veteran as senior manager, regional sales. He will be responsible for all Florida agency sales operations.
Read on for more.
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Built Technologies expands leadership team
Posted Date: Thursday, February 10, 2022
Construction finance platform Built Technologies added four members to its leadership team. Collectively, they bring over 80 years of sales and marketing experience to Built, where they will drive customer and revenue growth.
Read on for more.
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Equity-rich mortgages up 42 percent in fourth quarter
Posted Date: Thursday, February 10, 2022
More than 2 in 5 (41.9 percent) of mortgaged residential properties were considered equity-rich in the fourth quarter, according to ATTOM. That was up from 39.5 percent in the third quarter and from 30.2 percent a year earlier.
Read on for more.
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Corcoran Global Living partners with Gradus Capital
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Through an affiliated entity, Corcoran Global Living acquired an ownership interest in Gradus Capital, the parent company of Innovative Title Co. and HomeData Disclosure Services.
Gradus Capital was founded by a former president of Stewart Title of California. Innovative Title Co. is licensed as an underwritten title company in 25 California counties.
Read on for more about the partnership.
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Norman-Spencer enhances E&O program
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Norman-Spencer enhanced its real estate errors & omissions (E&O) program by creating a risk purchasing group (RPG) with The Hanover Insurance Group. The new program provides RPG members with the buying power of Norman-Spencer’s real estate professionals.
Coverages within the program include E&O insurance for title agents, mortgage brokers appraisers, abstractors, home inspectors and real estate agents.
Read on for more.
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Half of small employers raised compensation in January
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2022
A historic number of small businesses are struggling to increase their workforce, according to the NFIB’s January jobs report. Half of small-business owners surveyed said they raised compensation in January, a 48-year record high amount.
Nearly a quarter of respondents cited labor quality as their top business problem.
Read on for more from the NFIB report.
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First National Title adds to Southwest team
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2022
First National Title Insurance Co. named a state agency manager to its Southwest agency team. She has experience as an escrow and administrative coordinator.
Read on for more.
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Stewart Title boosts North Central District leadership
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Stewart Title named an agency services North Central District manager. He previously held the role of principal at A.S.K. Services, a title production company Stewart acquired in March 2021.
Read on for more.
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Second-home transactions rebounded in fourth quarter
Posted Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2022
The share of second home lock rates was on the upswing at the end of 2021, after dipping mid-year from an all-time high of 5.7 percent in the first quarter. That’s according to a market report from Pacaso.
Read on for more.
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OceanFirst Financial to acquire Trident Abstract Title
Posted Date: Friday, February 4, 2022
OceanFirst Financial Corp. signed an agreement to acquire a majority interest in New Jersey-based Trident Abstract Title Agency, with the right to acquire 100 percent. The transaction is expected to close on March 1.
Upon closing, Trident will operate as an independent subsidiary, and the current owners will continue to manage daily operations.
Read on for more about the acquisition.
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Weichert attributes success to streamlined services
Posted Date: Friday, February 4, 2022
Residential company Weichert, Realtors, reports that 2021 was its best year in more than a decade, and Weichert Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. had its best year in its history.
The company attributes much of the success to the Weichert “All Under One Roof” offering of real estate, mortgage, insurance and closing settlement services.
Read on for more.
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Alliant National again passes SOC exam
Posted Date: Friday, February 4, 2022
Alliant National Title Insurance Co. successfully completed the Service Organization Control (SOC) 1 SSAE 18 Type II examination of its agent quality management system for the eighth consecutive year.
The exam validates the company’s systems for minimizing the risk of insureds’ financial loss in connection with real estate closings, according to the company.
Read on for more.
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Fannie Mae chief economist shares 2022 forecast
Posted Date: Friday, February 4, 2022
In the first of October Research’s economic series forecast webinars this year, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Douglas Duncan shared his outlook for the economy, housing and mortgage market for 2022.
Read on for more.
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Ascendant National Title boosts commercial team
Posted Date: Friday, February 4, 2022
Ascendant National Title added a 15-year industry veteran to its commercial team as senior attorney underwriter. She will be responsible for evaluating risk and underwriting commercial transactions.
Read on for more.
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Housing market doubled in value since Great Recession
Posted Date: Friday, February 4, 2022
Housing gained a record $6.9 trillion in 2021, nearly doubling what was previously the largest annual gain of $3.7 trillion in 2005. Housing stock is now worth $43.4 trillion, according to Zillow.
Read on for more.
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Old Republic restructures Title Tech leadership
Posted Date: Thursday, February 3, 2022
Old Republic Title Tech Companies (OR Title Tech), part of the Old Republic Title Insurance Group, is being restructured to align the vision, leadership, and strategy of its commercial software companies more closely, according to the company.
The OR Title Tech software companies include eRecording Partners Network, iMarc (dba E-Closing), Pavaso, RamQuest and SMKT.
Read on to learn the members of the OR Title Tech Executive Management Team.
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