News By Edition

Title insurance premium volume in 2021 rose 35.9 percent year-over-year, according to the American Land Title Association’s (ALTA) market share analysis. ALTA attributes the volume to historic mortgage origination activity and soaring home values.

The industry generated $26.2 billion in title insurance premiums last year, compared with $19.2 billion in 2020, according to ALTA.  

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Old Republic International Corp. reported the company earned net premium and fees of $1.9 billion in the first quarter. It earned a net income of $192 million, down 7 percent year-over-year, according to the company’s earnings report.

In the title group, total premium and fee revenue for the quarter was around $1 billion, up 3 percent year-over-year. The group’s pretax operating income of $81 million dropped 22 percent from a year earlier.

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Digital commercial real estate transaction platform Lev announced $170 million in new funding.

The company closed a $70 million Series B round led by Parker 89, First American’s venture capital arm, and Cross River Digital Ventures. Lev also secured $100 million in debt financing from Cross River’s Strategic Direct Lending Group.

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Proptech company Spruce launched Spruce Mobility, a title and closing solution for relocation transactions. The company appointed three people to lead the new offering.

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The share of homesellers who dropped their asking price shot up to a six-month-high of 15 percent in April, according to a Redfin report. At the same time, the typical monthly mortgage payment for homebuyers soared a record 42 percent to a new high.

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Real estate technology company Compass signed a definitive agreement to acquire Consumer’s Title Co. of California, which has three locations. The transaction is expected to close before the end of the quarter.

The company will retain the Consumer’s Title name, and its leadership team will remain in their roles.

Read on for more about the acquisition.

PropLogix acquired Florida-based City Lien Search. Financial terms were not disclosed.

PropLogix took over operating the company in June 2019, but the acquisition is now final. The company said it wanted to take its time to ensure City Lien Search customers and employees had a smooth transition.

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Louisiana-based Punctual Abstract achieved its SOC (Service Organization Control) 2 Type 1 certification in an independent audit of the firm’s internal data and security control systems. The SOC 2 examination looked at data security, disaster recovery planning and employee data security compliance training.

The certification follows a SOC 1 Type 1 examination and certification in the fall of 2019.

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First American Mortgage Solutions integrated with ICE Mortgage Technology, making First American the first title and settlement provider to offer automated service ordering through ICE Mortgage Technology’s Encompass platform.

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SoftPro released an integration for online notarization with Notarize. SoftPro users can place and manage title and lender-initiated notary transactions through Notarize via the SoftPro 360 business exchange portal.

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State Street Title Agency in Ann Arbor, Mich., is expanding into southeastern Michigan. The agency is opening a second location in Milford, Mich.

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Berkshire Hathaway affiliate HomeServices of America is acquiring a minority stake in Title Resources Group (TRG), joining Centerbridge Partners, L.P. and Realogy Holdings Corp. in participating in the underwriting joint venture.

The expanded roster of JV partners will be instrumental in accelerating TRG’s mission and growth as a title underwriter, according to the company.

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The industry is constantly dealing with a variety of compliance issues, from RESPA compliance and state regulations to ways to securely transfer funds.

During the National Settlement Services Summit (NS3), June 1-3 at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate in Orlando, Fla., attendees will hear from speakers on these topics and more.

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South Florida Law, PLCC, opened a new Miami-Dade County location in Coral Gables, Fla. The new office is in addition to its headquarters in Hallandale, Fla.

The law firm provides real estate law services including real estate closings, title insurance and homeowners association law, in addition to business law, commercial litigation, construction law, personal injury and estate planning.

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PrivoCorp, a provider of mortgage origination, title and processing solutions, acquired Peoples Processing, Inc., an end-to-end mortgage fulfillment company. The acquisition will mean improved efficiency, better quality and streamlined processes, according to PrivoCorp’s founder and president.

The CEO of People Processing will continue as the CEO of PrivoCorp after the acquisition.

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Propy and Abra announced a partnership that will enable Propy customers to buy real estate by securing a loan using their digital assets as collateral with Abra Borrow. Propy enables real estate transactions entirely on the blockchain. Abra Borrow allows buyers to use crypto as collateral to borrow U.S. dollars.

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Ascendant National Title named a 30-year title industry veteran as vice president, title operations Colorado-Texas. He will be responsible for supporting the company’s continued growth in the Colorado and Texas markets.

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Profit margins on median-priced single-family home sales fell to 47.2 percent in the first quarter from 51.6 percent in the fourth quarter, according to ATTOM. That’s the first quarterly decline since late 2019 and the largest in a decade.

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First American Financial Corp. completed its acquisition of California-based Mother Lode Holding Co. and its 17 operating subsidiaries, including Placer Title Co.

Mother Lode’s CEO, chief operating officer and president will continue to lead the company, which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of First American. The company and its subsidiaries will operate under their existing brands.

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Westcor Land Title Insurance and ClosingLock are partnering to help combat wire fraud for Westcor’s agents. The partnership will allow Westcor to offer ClosingLock to its agents, protecting them from wire fraud in addition to improving the closing experience.

ClosingLock reports it has protected over $100 billion in real estate funds to date.

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Highland Title + Escrow opened its 17th office in the Washington, D.C., metro area. The new location is in Stafford, Va.

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AmTrust Title boosted its legal and audit teams. The company hired a southeast regional underwriting counsel and senior auditor.

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The February First American Real House Price Index (RHPI) jumped by nearly 31 percent, the fastest growth in the history of the index. Chief Economist Mark Fleming attributes the rapid annual decline in housing affordability to increases in both nominal house prices and mortgage rates.

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As title companies explore the best ways to recruit new talent, they sometimes overlook the obvious: their current talent pool.

The Title Report spoke with industry leaders at WFG and Agents National Title Insurance Co. about self-promotion and some other creative ways to recruit new talent that is a good fit for the company.

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Texas-based Capital Title acquired Blackacre Title in Central Texas. With the acquisition, Capital Title established a new Central Texas region, with offices in Waco, Killeen and Gatesville.

Capital Title is the largest independent title company in the country, according to its CEO. The company operates more than 100 offices in Texas.

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Real estate technology company Blend, a cloud banking provider, released three new eClosing products aimed to give borrowers a fully online closing experience and lenders shortened closing cycles and lower error rates.

The new solutions include Blend eVault, a repository of electronic promissory notes; Blend Signing Room, a remote online notarization (RON) solution; and Blend RON Eligibility Engine, which provides RON-eligibility information.

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Central Indiana-based MVP National Title boosted its executive team by naming 25-year industry veteran as vice president. She will accelerate the company’s growth and strengthen its support of the real estate community.

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Mobility Market Intelligence (MMI) added two regional directors to its enterprise sales team. They will grow MMI’s roster of mortgage enterprise clients and drive brand awareness and adoption in mortgage-related verticals, such as title and insurance.

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Redfin reported the hottest March ever for the housing market, with homes selling at their fastest price and for more above list price than any other March on record. The month ended with signs of a cooldown, as more buyers were edged out by soaring mortgage rates, sky-high prices and few new listings.

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New Jersey-based Clear Skies Title Agency expanded its services into Pennsylvania. The agency will be doing business as Clear Skies Abstract, based in Philadelphia and servicing the entire state.

Clear Skies has been eying Pennsylvania for expansion for some time, according to a company partner. Instead of jumping in, they took their time to study the market and strengthen their processes.  

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Title Resources Group, an underwriting joint venture with Centerbridge Partners, L.P. and Realogy Holdings Corp., named an executive vice president and chief development officer.

He will be responsible for strategic business growth and forging new alliances across the real estate, lending and developer spectrums and will manage relationship development with title agencies in the western U.S.

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According to the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, 31 percent of small-business owners in March said inflation was the single-most important problem in their business, the highest reading since the first quarter of 1981.

Inflation has overtaken “labor quality” as the No. 1 problem for small businesses, according to the NFIB.

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Homebuilder Tri Pointe Homes subsidiary Tri Pointe Assurance will now offer title and escrow services in Bellevue, Wash.

Tri Pointe’s existing service provider All City Escrow is sunsetting its services following the retirement of its president, and Tri Pointe Assurance will hire most of All City Escrow’s employees.

Read on for more about the new arrangement.