News By Edition

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the tokenization of digital and physical assets are being discussed more and more as a mechanism to convey ownership of real estate and to enhance the real estate transaction process.

First American Title Chief Innovation Underwriter Justin Lischak Earley recently spoke about the promise and challenges posed by using tokenization and NFTs in real estate transactions.

Read on for more.

Redfin is shuttering RedfinNow, its iBuying arm, and laying off 13 percent of its total employees, or 862 people. Of those, 264 are directly related to the closing of RedfinNow.

“Winding down RedfinNow is a strategic decision we made in order to focus our resources on our core businesses in the face of the rising cost of capital,” Redfin said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

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Moody’s Investors Service affirmed the Baa2 senior debt rating of Old Republic International Corp. and the A2 insurance financial strength (IFS) ratings of Old Republic’s title insurance and primary property and casualty (P&C) insurance and subsidiaries.

The rating outlook for Old Republic and its subsidiaries is stable, according to Moody’s.

Read on for more on the ratings.

AccuTitle is building a remote online notarization and eSigning platform for its suite of title and escrow offerings. The company’s title management platforms include TitleFusion, Landtech, Closers’ Choice and TrackerPro.

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SoftPro released a new title production integration with Texan Title Insurance Co. It allows agents to order closing protection letters and policy jackets directly through their SoftPro software.

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The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index fell 0.8 points in October to 91.3, which is the 10th consecutive month below the 49-year average of 98.

One in three small-business owners said inflation was their most important problem in operating their business, 3 points higher than in September.

Read on for more from NFIB’s findings.

Real estate technology platform OwnProp, a Rex company, is expanding into the Atlanta metro market. The platform fractionalizes multifamily and commercial real estate deals by using blockchain technology.

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The Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index dropped in October to the lowest reading since the inception of the index in 2011. Only 16 percent of respondents think now is a good time to buy a home.

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Twenty-nine percent of single-family homes for sale in the third quarter were new construction, the highest share of any third quarter on record, according to Redfin. That’s up from 25 percent in the third quarter of 2021 and 18 percent in the third quarter of 2020.

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Residential real estate iBuying digital platform Opendoor plans to lay off 550 people, or about 18 percent of the company.

“The reality is, we’re navigating one of the most challenging real estate markets in 40 years and need to adjust our business,” CEO and co-founder Eric Wu said in a blog post.

Read on for more.

TitleEase announced a new franchisee in Southfield, Mich., which will serve customers locally and nationally. It was TitleEase’s national reach that attracted the franchisee to the company.

A member of the Lincoln Family of Companies, TitleEase offers franchisees a turnkey title and closing business that is fully compliant and ready to run.

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Jersey City, N.J.-based Clear Skies Title Agency partnered with Secured Signing to implement its eSigning platform.

A Clear Skies partner said the agency decided to implement the platform after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed NJ Assembly Bill No. 4250 this summer, permanently authorizing New Jersey notaries to conduct remote online notarizations. 

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Florida’s Best Reverse Mortgage Co. is expanding its retail presence in the state with a new office location in St. Petersburg. The new office serves St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and all of Pinellas and Pasco counties.

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Stewart Title named a new group senior vice president for the West region. She is responsible for overseeing direct operations in California and Arizona.

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Almost half (48.5 percent) of mortgaged residential properties in the U.S. were considered equity-rich in the third quarter, according to ATTOM. That’s up from both the second quarter (48.1 percent) and year-over-year (39.5 percent.)

Read on for more from the ATTOM report.

Stewart Information Services Corp. reported a total revenue of $716 million in the third quarter, down 14 percent from $837 million in the third quarter of 2021, according to the third quarter earnings report.

In the title segment, operating revenue dropped $120 million, or 16 percent, year-over-year, from $768 million to $648 million.

Read on for more from the earnings report.

Homeownership platform Haven raised $8 million in a Series A funding round led by Fifth Wall that included Fidelity National Financial. The round brings total funding to $13.5 million.

The money will be used to scale tech-enabled mortgage servicing infrastructure, according to the company, which will help elevate mortgage servicers from being simply back-office payment processors.

Read on for more.

Real estate technology company Compass named a new chief financial officer, effective Nov. 15. He will be responsible for all aspects of the company’s financial operations, including investor relations, and be a key member of the executive management team.

He joins the company after nearly 20 years of experience across the real estate and retail industries, serving in several leadership roles.

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First American’s REconomy Podcast, launched in 2020, recently produced its 50^th episode. The podcast is designed to deliver economic insights for real estate professionals in under 15 minutes an episode.

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Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. named an agency representative to its South Florida team. She has more than 14 years of experience in the industry.

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The housing market is rebalancing after its recent frenetic period. While homes that sell are still doing so quickly, Zillow found other homes are staying on the market much longer, meaning sellers must build an attractive and competitive listing to attract buyers.

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Knight Barry Title expanded its presence in central Florida after acquiring a title company in Clermont, Fla. Financial terms were not disclosed.

All operations and files from the acquired company will be transferred to Knight Barry’s existing Clermont office, and two team members, a title agent and processor, will join Knight Barry title’s five-member Clermont team.

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Title Financial Corp. (TFC) announced its subsidiaries First American Title Co., First Montana Land Title Co., Laramie County Abstract & Title Co. and Gillette Title Services are now Flying S Title & Escrow.

The change was made to avoid confusion between First American Title Co. and another operation with the same name in California, according to the TFC CEO.

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loanDepot and Georgia-based homebuilder National HomeCorp formed NHC Mortgage, a joint venture in the purchase mortgage market.

NHC Mortgage will offer residential mortgage solutions and service in Florida, Iowa and North Carolina. There are plans to add Kentucky, Arizona, Virginia, Texas, Alabama, Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina in 2023.

Read on for more details.

Orange Coast Lender Services (OCLS) has partnered with a data artificial intelligence company. OCLS said it was drawn to the company’s ability to extract data from forms into its production software, shortening turnaround times.

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Doma Title Insurance named a 25-year industry veteran as vice president, regional underwriting counsel for Texas. She will provide underwriting guidance and support to Doma title agents across the state.

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Housing affordability continued its rapid decline in August, as First American’s Real House Price Index rose 49 percent year-over-year. Because real estate is local, it’s important to analyze how the deceleration in house prices varies by market.

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Anywhere Real Estate named the company’s first chief product officer. He is responsible for the definition and execution of the company’s overall product strategy, innovation roadmap, and technology investments.

He has experience incubating and growing technology businesses in different areas, including mobile, semiconductors, enterprise/SaaS, and artificial intelligence/machine learning, while leading teams including product management, marketing, strategy, and engineering.

Read on for more.

Continental Title Co. named a longtime team member and 26-year industry veteran as its new president. She has been with Continental Title for 16 years, most recently as chief operating officer.

When President Matt McBride decided to transition into a new role focused on preventing fraud in the title industry, he recommended she take over as president.

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Real estate technology company Prevu completed an asset purchase agreement with Reali, Inc., the fintech platform that announced in August it was shutting down.

Terms of the asset transaction include the transfer of all technology and intellectual property rights related to Reali’s mortgage business, Reali Loans.

Read on for more about the acquisition.

Foundation Title & Escrow is opening a new office in Maryville, Tenn., in Blount County. The office is the company’s 18th in the state.

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Jackson Kelly PLLC added a seasoned real estate attorney to its business law group in Charleston, W.V. He is well versed in title insurance, title opinions, settlement and closing processes.

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Home sales in September plunged 25 percent year-over-year and new listings fell 22 percent, according to a Redfin report. Those are the largest declines since the onset of the pandemic in spring 2020.

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Fintech startup Payload released an enhanced verification service (EVS) for its real estate platform, Payload Keybox, following a pilot phase with financial institutions.

EVS technology captures NACHA-compliant (National Automated Clearing House Association) account validation in one step, allowing homebuyers to submit escrow payments in seconds regardless of their banking institution.

Read on for more about the new offering.

Stewart Title expanded its San Francisco national commercial services/Bay Area team. It hired a senior vice president (SVP), operations director, along with a SVP, escrow operations manager, a SVP, senior commercial escrow officer, an underwriting counsel and commercial escrow officer.

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Profit margins on median-priced single-family home and condo sales dropped from 57.6 percent in the second quarter to 54.6 percent in the third quarter, according to ATTOM. The drop-off came as the median national home value went down 3 percent quarterly, to roughly $340,000.

Read on for more.