News By Edition

The leaders of both Stewart Information Services Corp. and Mortgage Contracting Services spoke with The Title Report about the new opportunities presented by Stewart purchasing the mortgage services business line from Making Communities Shine.

WFG National Title Insurance Co. leaders say WFG Key will bring clarity to conversations that real estate agents have with their clients. This new technology can help agents answer consumers’ questions about affordability, monthly payments, pricing strategy and other issues.

New Venture Escrow President Casey LeBlanc said the expansion is “an incredible opportunity” for the company. Experienced escrow officers and a sales representative will have prominent roles at the new site.

While a majority of the Federal Reserve Districts reported a slight to modest rise in overall economic activity, residential real estate has softened in most districts, according to the latest Beige Book report.

AmTrust has a new vice president and regional manager. The company’s new hire has more than 30 years of experience in title insurance and real estate services.

Snapdocs started a new integration with MeridianLink that company leaders say will automate manual work and improve accuracy for lenders originating and closing home equity lines of credit and loan transactions.

ATTOM’s Year-End 2025 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report showed that foreclosure filings were reported on 367,460 properties, which is 14 percent higher year-over-year, and 3 percent more than in 2023.

Redfin President and CEO Glenn Kelman announced he is stepping down, ending a 20-year run as the leader of the home search platform that offers home financing and servicing. His decision comes about six months after Rocket Companies completed its $1.75 billion all-stock acquisition of Redfin.

Titl announced the closing of a $2.5 million seed funding round that was overseen by Cofounders Capital and FIT Ventures. The proptech company will use the funds to expand its operations into three new states.

The National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.5 points from November to December while the Uncertainty Index declined by 7 points. The increase in the Optimism Index was mainly driven by an increase in business owners who are expecting improved business conditions.

The new member of Chaves Perlowitz Luftig LLP’s team has counseled clients on the acquisition sale, financing, and development of office, retail, industrial, hotel and residential properties for more than 20 years.

Ubitquity’s Crypto Audit Scanner Underwriter Edition will provide enterprise-grade tools for aggregating crypto exposure and monitor agent compliance.

The median U.S. monthly housing payment is $2,413, which is 5.5 percent lower compared with a year ago, according to Redfin.

Allied Capital Title has acquired an Indiana-based title firm as part of its mission to expand its Midwest footprint.

With this acquisition, First Liberty Title is looking to expand its presence across southeast Texas while broadening access to title and closing services.

First American Deputy Chief Economist Odeta Kushi said she believes improved affordability and inventory are signs that the housing market is slowly improving.

Stewart Information Services Corp., a Stewart-owned firm that offers credit, customer, and real estate data and technology services, has selected a new president of Informative Research.

Rezervology LLC has launched a data migration software and service that will relocate title file data from one title production system to another.

Hartford, Conn. is projected to have the highest level of competition for houses in 2026, according to a forecast from Zillow.

Compass Inc. and Anywhere Real Estate Inc. announced that stockholders of each company voted overwhelmingly to approve and adopt all proposals related to the previously announced merger of the companies.

October Research gave an overview of a resource guide from the National Association of Realtors that provides information on the real estate industry practices and policies that were changed following the Sitzer-Burnett settlement.

The percentage of small-business owners reporting job openings they could not fill was unchanged from November to December, according to the National Federation of Independent Business’ latest jobs report.

Ardán Inc. hired a former staffer to lead the company’s enterprise technology function with responsibility for software engineering and product architecture.

While homes were less affordable in the fourth quarter of 2025 than years past in the overwhelming majority of markets, they were more affordable than the third quarter in 86 percent of the counties analyzed.

The median monthly housing payment in early January declined to the lowest figure since the beginning of 2024, according to Redfin.

Kriss Law/Atlantic Closing and Escrow has merged with a real estate settlement services law firm serving Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

Ubitquity Inc. rolled out CipherBPA v2.0 and its advanced counterpart, CipherBPA+AI, tools designed to help enhance closing workflows.

Blend Labs Inc. has hired a professional with more than a quarter-century of experience in fintech sales leadership to serve as the company’s head of revenue.

Axos Bank is planning to integrate its title and escrow banking services with Qualia's digital real estate closing platform, which is designed to create a streamlined transaction experience for settlement service providers nationwide.

Real estate investors are purchasing approximately 40 percent of the property selling in areas affected by the January 2025 California wildfires, according to a Redfin report.

Williston Financial Group and Gold Capital Partners have teamed up through a joint venture to form a title and escrow company that has started operations in Arizona and is planning to expand into multiple states.

Stewart Title announced it has acquired a Florida title agency which has branch locations in Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres.

We caught up with Jeff Lanier, head of finance and senior vice president of strategic accounts at Stewart, as he prepares to share his Q1 Economic Forecast with the October Research audience. He shared some of what he plans to cover in the webinar.

True Title Co.’s newest hire has worked in real estate law and offers a background in title underwriting, collections, homebuilding and development.

Sun Title promoted an employee to serve as its director of operations. In the new post, the staffer will oversee all business units and segments of the operations, including residential and commercial.

The homes in Irondequoit, N.Y., a suburb of Rochester — sell in 8 1/2 days and for much more than their asking price, according to Redfin. Rounding out the top five most competitive housing markets in the U.S. are three California cities and one other site in Western New York.