News By Edition

CATIC Family of Companies’ employee-led project called “The Initiative” was a labor of love for those involved.

In an exclusive interview with The Title Report, Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer Damon Carter and Senior Director, Learning and Education Counsel Andrea Alessandro detailed the program, which focuses on building strategic partnerships with community organizations committed to promoting fair and equal housing standards for underrepresented groups.

Read on to learn more.

October Research announces that 25-year title and settlement services industry veteran Mary Schuster has joined the company as Chief Knowledge Officer.

"Stay tuned for some exciting new developments we will be rolling out to assist our partners in the real estate transaction,” CEO and Publisher Erica Meyer said.

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Houston-based Viant Eye has launched TruFile, its Version 3 SMART Doc generation and validation platform, enabling non-SMART Doc platforms to generate and accept SMART Docs in line with the latest MISMO standards.

Viant Eye partners Ben Sherman and Chris Trujillo sat down with The Title Report to detail title industry innovations brought to market with TruFile.

Read on to find out more information.

Fidelity National Financial’s title segment revenue climbed in the second quarter compared with the first three months of 2023.

For the title segment, total quarterly revenue of $1.9 billion was up from $1.6 billion in the first quarter, but still down 27 percent from $2.6 billion in the second quarter of 2022.

Read on for more from the company’s earnings report.

Small-business owners are reporting few or no qualified applicants, with more than 40 percent (seasonally adjusted) unable to fill positions, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

Small-business owners’ plans to fill open positions remain elevated, with a seasonally adjusted net 17 percent planning to create new jobs in the next three months.

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A former National Closing Solutions and Placer Title Co. business development leader joined Grid151 as its new director of national sales.

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InspectHOA launched a mortgage payoff solution, growing its suite of service and tech offerings to modernize the once-manual closing processes.

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The income needed to afford a starter home has risen over 20 percent in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Miami, more than anywhere else in the country, according to Redfin.

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New Jersey-based Surety Title Co. has acquired a fellow Garden State title business, with plans calling to retain all the acquired company’s staff members and leadership.

Founded in 1992, the Surety Family of Companies is an independently owned title insurance agency headquartered in Marlton N.J., with 40 locations throughout the country.

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Homebuilders partnering with Zillow will now have their listings and communities automatically syndicated to Redfin, expanding the visibility of the homes to potential buyers, the companies announced.

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Mobility Market Intelligence acquired a customer relationship management platform designed for mortgage advisors and real estate agents.

Leaders say that current and future customers under both companies’ umbrellas will soon have access to a growing list of integrated services and features.

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A new partnership between home inspection provider Inspectify and real estate platform efizbo seeks to incorporate completed inspections into home listings.

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The Clearing House’s RTP Network has expanded access to its Request for Payment feature, allowing users to ask for and receive instant payments through secure banking channels.

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A senior commercial real estate economist at First American Financial Corp. offers insight on the growing trend of fewer investors buying single-family homes.

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Kensington Vanguard National Land Services announced its acquisition of a large national commercial title agency from Dallas, adding to an already strong presence in Texas.  

Twelve states now house at least one Kensington Vanguard office with leaders saying that additional market expansion is possible, even through a challenging rate environment.

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First American Financial Corp. second quarter earnings show a jump in title segment revenue compared with the first three months of 2023, despite totals remaining down year-over-year.

Companywide revenue also climbed from the first quarter, coming in at $1.6 billion in the most recent earnings report. Leaders say affordability continues to hamper residential purchases.

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Settlements, Ltd., of Pittsburgh is partnering with Alltech National Title to expand its reach beyond the Keystone State. Through this partnership, Settlements, Ltd. gains access to Alltech National Title’s vast network of referrals and closings

Leaders say the move is expected to greatly contribute to future growth as well as enhanced technological capabilities.

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Morgan Law LLC of New Jersey has brought on a new associate with long-time experience in transactional real estate matters as well as commercial and residential purchases.

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Universal Component Lending Services released a new round of updates for its proprietary software system, Component Servicing Intelligence.

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The median U.S. home-sale price is up 3.2 percent year-over-year, the biggest increase since November, and mortgage rates remain elevated, according to Redfin.

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Real estate fintech firm Stavvy acquired Brace, a technology company aiming to increase efficiency and transparency in mortgage servicing.

According to company leaders, the acquisition addresses concerns from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about servicers offering better and faster avenues for early resolution, instead of using phone and mail processes.

Read on to find out more information.

Both companywide and title segment revenue increased for Stewart Information Services Corp. in the second quarter compared with the first three months of 2023, according to a new earnings report.

Company leaders said year-over-year revenue declines can be attributed to continued elevated interest rates and their impact on transaction volume.

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Global fintech company Acrisure picked CertifID for title insurance payment protection, utilizing CertifID’s fraud protection software, fraud recovery services and up to $1 million in payment insurance for verified transactions.

According to a survey from the American Land Title Association (ALTA), nearly half (46 percent) of title agencies report at least one attempt to change wire or payoff instructions a month.

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Cincinnati-based software provider AccountTech and payment platform Payload have integrated technology to streamline and automate earnest money deposits.

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Florida-based X1 Analytics unveiled a revamped website, which the company says is part of an overarching focus on embracing traditional title practices while enhancing them with new technology.

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Home values are rising at pre-pandemic rates nationally and are forecast to stay the course. Homebuyers still have few choices, but builders are adapting to help fill the gap, according to new data from Zillow.

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Old Republic International Corp. reported second quarter increases in title insurance net premiums and fees earned compared to the first three months of 2023.

Companywide pretax income was also up compared to the first quarter of 2023, but still below totals seen during the fourth quarter of last year.

Read on to find out more information.

Closinglock and J.P. Morgan are partnering on a new digital payments solution for the real estate industry, offering secure transfer of earnest money, cash-to-close and other property purchase transactions.

According to the companies, the new solution supports all U.S. banks and works with wire and real-time payment rails.

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Stewart Information Services Corp. has added a long-time CEO, website architect and technology leader to its board of directors, the company recently announced.

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FedNow Service, the Federal Reserve’s new instant payment system, is now live and available to any interested bank or credit union. Individuals can instantly receive their paychecks and use them the same day, and small businesses can more efficiently manage cash flows without processing delays, according to project leaders. Read on to find out more information.

According to a second quarter home equity report from property data curator ATTOM, roughly half of U.S. mortgaged residential properties were considered equity-rich during the period.

Read on to find out more.

 

Flying S Title & Escrow has acquired a Montana-based title business that’s been operating for more than 100 years.

Title Financial Corporation, the parent company of Flying S Title & Escrow, said it intends to bring advanced technology and increased underwriter flexibility to customers involved in the acquisition.

Read on to find out more information.

Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. has introduced Ardán, Inc. as its new holding company, which Westcor says will aim to “lead the future of title insurance.”

Leaders said this new organizational structure will “bring clarity to the market and ensure that each business under Ardán has the resources needed to transform the title industry.”

Read on to find out more information.

Doma Title Insurance, Inc. and Stavvy have partnered to offer title and escrow professionals eClosing solutions and reduced fraud through Stavvy’s addition to Doma’s AgentMarketplace.

Leaders say the partnership will spell reduced costs and inefficiencies as well as access to remote online notarization.

Read on to learn more.

Brandi Snowden, director of member and consumer survey research at the National Association of Realtors, recently spoke on numerous title and real estate matters as part of October Research’s 2023 Economic Forecast webinar series. Read on to learn more.

Snapdocs is integrating its Snapdocs eClose and Notary Scheduling platforms to form Connected Closings. Leaders say the combined platform will deliver transparency to all parties and accelerate closing speed by at least 1.5 days.

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Redfin reports 14 of every 1,000 homes changed hands in the first half of 2023, compared to 19 of every 1,000 during the same period in 2019. The turnover rate for large suburban houses has declined even more.

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A second quarter wire fraud analytics report from FundingShield shows roughly half of loans having at least one risk issue, a 12.6 percent year-over-year leap.

On average, loans classified as problematic had about two issues each, which the report said indicateda lack of appropriate controls by closing agents to identify and fix issues.

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New reporting from the Federal Reserve System’s Beige Book shows an increase in economic activity in June compared with the prior reporting period.

Most districts reported still-subdued home sales, attributing that result to elevated interest rates and inventory that isn’t meeting demand.

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New York-based real estate document preparation provider bundle has made a new appointment to its board of directors.

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Listing Showcase, an entirely new, AI-powered platform designed to help agents win more listings, is now exclusively available on Zillow.

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Home prices have posted their biggest increase in over seven months with more demand than supply as high mortgage rates deter sellers, according to Redfin.

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