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What does the housing market look like for rest of 2021?
Posted Date: Thursday, June 10, 2021
ATTOM Chief Product and Technology Officer Todd Teta and Altos Research founder and CEO Michael Simonsen recently took a comprehensive look at the mid-year housing market.
The two analyzed current market conditions and shared their forecasts on what to expect for the rest of the year.
Read on for details about what Teta and Simonsen had to say.
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AccuTitle recognized with several awards
Posted Date: Friday, July 2, 2021
AccuTitle announced CEO Bill Bartzak has been recognized as a “2021 Top Leader in Real Estate and Construction” by the World Real Estate & Construction Forum and that the company won three 2021 TITAN Awards and a Stevie Award.
Read on for more details.
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Spruce raises $60 million in Series C funding
Posted Date: Thursday, June 17, 2021
Spruce announced a $60 million Series C funding round led by Zigg Capital. Existing investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners and Scale Venture Partners, also participated.
The latest investment, which will be used to build upon Spruce’s title and residential closing technology offerings, brings the company’s total funding to $110 million.
Read on for more details.
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Title Alliance launches new support division
Posted Date: Thursday, June 17, 2021
Title Alliance, Ltd., announced its new national title and escrow support division, which will provide administrative services across the Title Alliance family and consist of five departments: order entry, post-closing, recording division, disbursement, and title curative.
The division has 40 team members and plans to hire another 30 by the end of the year.
Read on for more.
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Atlantic Bay processes 10,000 eClosings with DocMagic
Posted Date: Thursday, June 17, 2021
Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group said it has processed more than 10,000 paperless eClosings through DocMagic’s Total eClose Platform, which includes eNote generation, eVault technology, and compliant document production.
Atlantic Bay Chief Operations Officer Christina Brown attributed the company’s success on being early adopters of remote online notarization and eNotes and helping settlement agents become comfortable with such software.
Read on for more.
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Community Title Network opens additional Delaware office
Posted Date: Thursday, June 17, 2021
An attorney with extensive experience in real estate closings will manage the third Delaware office for settlement operations for Ridgway Law Group and its affiliated title agency, Community Title Network.
Read on for more.
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Experts tell Zillow zoning changes could boost housing supply
Posted Date: Thursday, June 17, 2021
Economists and other real estate experts surveyed by Zillow say relaxing zoning rules would be the most productive way to increase new housing supply.
Read on for more from the recent Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey.
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Foley to retire from Black Knight board
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021
William Foley II said he intends to retire as chairman and a director of the Black Knight Board of Directors at the company’s annual shareholders meeting on June 16. He will serve as chairman emeritus after he steps down.
The board of directors has appointed someone to serve as chairman of the board in his place.
Read on for more about the announcement.
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Stewart acquires Thomas Title & Escrow
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Stewart Information Services Corp. acquired Texas-based Thomas Title and Escrow and its offices in Scottsdale, Ariz., Houston and Dallas. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Stewart CEO Fred Eppinger said Thomas Title will be a key part of the company’s strategy to expand its national commercial presence.
Read on for more about the deal.
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Fathom Holdings reports 72 percent revenue growth
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Fathom Holdings reported its first-quarter revenue grew about 72 percent to $49.6 million, from $28.8 million a year ago. Fathom also completed about 6,900 real estate transactions in the first quarter, up 60 percent from last year.
Fathom Holdings’ brands include Fathom Realty, Encompass Lending, Dagley Insurance, Verus Title, intelliAgent, and Real Results.
Read on for more from the company’s first-quarter earnings report.
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ATTOM unveils cloud-based property data platform
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021
ATTOM announced the launch of ATTOM Cloud, a cloud-based platform that provides immediate access to curated property data.
Read on for more about the new product.
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NATIC adds to Florida team
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021
North American Title Insurance Co. (NATIC) has added to its Florida state agency management team.
Read on for more about the new hire.
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Flood risk doesn’t deter buyers from waterfront properties
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2021
The typical home with high flood risk sold for $402,010 in the first quarter, a 14 percent premium over the typical home with low flood risk, according to a recent Redfin report. That premium surged during the pandemic, as many homebuyers sought homes on the beach.
Read on for more from the report.
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Snapdocs raises $150 million in funding
Posted Date: Friday, June 11, 2021
Digital closing platform Snapdocs announced $150 million in Series D funding the company expects will help build the necessary infrastructure to connect lenders, settlement services and borrowers to digitize mortgage closings at scale.
The Series D funding round was led by Tiger Global, with participation from Sequoia, Y Combinator, F-Prime, Maverick, Alkeon, and Wellington Management.
Read on for more about the funding round.
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Watersound Closings & Escrow opens in Florida
Posted Date: Friday, June 11, 2021
Real estate development firm St. Joe Co. announced residential and commercial title services provider Watersound Closings & Escrow opened in northwest Florida.
The new company follows St. Joe’s announcement in January about the formation of Watersound Insurance Agency, a provider of personal and commercial insurance services.
Read on for more about the venture by St. Joe Co. and partners.
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NexTitle names new president
Posted Date: Friday, June 11, 2021
NexTitle announced the promotion of its chief operating officer to president. The new president will also remain COO. Founder Stephen Routh will continue as CEO.
The new president will continue to oversee company operations in addition to working more closely with Routh to drive a long-term company vision.
Read on for more details about the promotion.
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Verus Title hires managing director for Texas operation
Posted Date: Friday, June 11, 2021
A 20-year title industry veteran has been tapped by Fathom Holdings subsidiary Verus Title to serve as managing director of its new Texas operation.
Read on for more about the new position.
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Refinance lending more than doubles since last year
Posted Date: Friday, June 11, 2021
ATTOM Data Solutions reported the continued increase in mortgage activity into 2021 is due to a jump in refinance lending, which has more than doubled over the past year.
Read on for more from ATOMM’s first-quarter 2021 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report.
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Doma revenues rise 80 percent year-over-year
Posted Date: Thursday, June 10, 2021
Doma Holdings, Inc., reported first quarter total revenues of $128 million, up 80 percent from a year ago. That “far exceeded our budgeted expectations,” Doma CEO Max Simkoff said.
He attributed the company’s strong performance to both the robust housing market and continued market share gains.
Read on for more from the company’s first-quarter earnings report.
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iBuyer Offerpad partners with First American
Posted Date: Thursday, June 10, 2021
iBuyer Offerpad partnered with First American Title Insurance Co. to help a Nevada homeseller close escrow on a sale in one day, according to the companies.
Currently available as a pilot program, Offerpad Greenhouse is a 24-hour close option. First American Title’s automated processes helped streamline a process that typically takes 30-45 days.
Read on for more about the partnership.
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Proper Title expands staff
Posted Date: Thursday, June 10, 2021
Chicago-based Proper Title, LLC, recently boosted its staff with the hiring of an assistant vice president of commercial business development, a senior commercial underwriting consultant and counsel, a senior underwriting counsel, a director of title operations, a director of post-closing and settlement services, and a senior escrow officer.
Read on for more about the new hires.
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Survey: Two-thirds of pandemic relocators in good financial shape
Posted Date: Thursday, June 10, 2021
About two-thirds of surveyed Redfin.com users who relocated between March 2020 and March 2021 have the same or lower housing costs, and almost as many said their new home is the same size or bigger.
Read on for more from the survey.
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Study: Thursday listings sell faster, for more money
Posted Date: Thursday, June 10, 2021
Homes listed on a Thursday sell faster and are more likely to sell above list price, according to a Zillow study.
Read on for more from Zillow’s analysis, including which listing day leaves houses on the market the longest.
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Stewart acquires fintech Cloudvirga
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Stewart Information Services Corp. acquired fintech company Cloudvirga, which specializes in digital mortgages.
The acquisition strengthens Stewart’s positioning in the mortgage finance space, complements its existing capabilities, augments its ability to provide customers with end-to-end mortgage services, and further enables it to serve customers in all markets, according to the company.
Read on for more about the acquisition.
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Proliant Settlement Systems adds Michigan franchisee
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Proliant Settlement Systems, LLC, continued its expansion by adding a franchisee in Grand Blanc, Mich.
The franchise owner, who has 15 years of experience as a Realtor, turned to Proliant to provide title and closing services to his real estate customers, according to Proliant Executive Vice President Michael Telford.
Read on for more about Proliant’s latest franchisee.
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Law firm launches ‘Title Nerds’ podcast
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Law firm Ricker Danzig, based in New Jersey, recently launched a title insurance podcast called “Title Nerds,” which will explore the intricacies two firm partners have addressed through their decades representing title insurance companies and their insured lenders and property owners.
The podcast will feature firm members as well as outside speakers.
Read on for more.
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NATIC boosts Florida state agency team
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2021
North American Title Insurance Co. added to its independent agent management team in Florida.
Read on for more about the new hire.
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Zombie foreclosures rise in second quarter
Posted Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2021
According to ATTOM Data Solutions second-quarter 2021 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report, the number of pre-foreclosure homes sitting empty in the second quarter was up 21 percent from the first quarter and 5.6 percent from a year ago.
Read on for more from the report, including the states with the most zombie properties.
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Fintech Stavvy announces $40 million in financing
Posted Date: Friday, June 4, 2021
Boston-based fintech platform Stavvy announced a record Series A funding round, led by Morningside Technology Ventures. Part of the funding will be used to fund key team members, including a chief strategy officer.
Stavvy also announced its alliance with Flagstar Bank, the sixth-largest bank mortgage originator in the country, to provide remote loan modification services.
Read on for more.
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Cottrell Title sees marketing results with Alanna.ai
Posted Date: Friday, June 4, 2021
Cottrell Title & Escrow saw its online positive reviews increase by 7 percent after launching a marketing campaign with Alanna.ai, a new AI communication tool in the title space.
Alanna.ai was created as a virtual closing assistant to help streamline communication in the real estate industry between agents, lenders, buyers, and sellers.
Read on for more details.
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Opendoor expands into three new markets
Posted Date: Friday, June 4, 2021
Residential real estate digital platform Opendoor announced its launch into three new markets to provide homeowners across the U.S. with a streamlined way to sell their homes.
Opendoor provides homeowners with a digital solution and a competitive all-cash offer, allowing them to sell their home without a traditional sale.
Read on for more about the company’s expansion.
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Housing affordability falls for first time in two years
Posted Date: Friday, June 4, 2021
Housing affordability dropped in March year-over-year, the first decline since January 2019, according to First American’s Real House Price Index.
Read on for more, including the cities with the greatest declines in housing affordability.
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