News By Edition

Expert tips on navigating the current merger and acquisition (M&A) landscape were shared by Bowe Digital and Title Success’ Wayne Stanley and Shaddock National Holdings’ Michael Rubin.

The pair highlighted multiple parts of the M&A process that often go overlooked, including management of employee expectations and finding proper culture fits.

Read on to find out more information.

Fidelity National Financial reported second quarter increases in both companywide net earnings and title segment revenue.

For the title segment, total revenue of $1.9 billion for the second quarter was in line with the second quarter of 2023 and up from $1.66 billion in the first quarter of this year, according to the company’s earnings report.

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Doma Title Insurance and Intellicheck have partnered to provide its title agent and attorney customers with a tool to detect seller impersonation fraud.

In 2023, 30 percent of all claims paid by Doma involved fraud and forgery, which includes fraudulent seller ID claims. Only a few months into 2024, claims involving seller impersonation surpassed 2023 levels.

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Westcor Land Title Insurance Co., with help from GridBase, has launched the Westcor Store, a digital platform providing title agents a comprehensive suite of tools, resources and technology.

Integrated capabilities harness the full capability of the Ardán family of companies, including underwriting, fulfillment, tech tools and data. Agents will also have access to preferred Westcor vending partners.

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A new turnkey cybersecurity solution for small businesses from Hughes Network Systems will offer protection against latest threats on PCs, laptops, smartphones, and other smart devices, such as cameras and sensors.

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DomiDocs has expanded its title sales division with a trio of industry veterans coming on as vice president of sales, director of sales and director of onboarding and client success.

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New data from ATTOM showed second quarter profit margins on nationwide home sales stayed essentially flat compared to numbers seen in the first quarter, rising one percentage point.

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A trio of title industry leaders provided expertise on thriving in any market during the 2024 National Settlement Services Summit.

Doma Title Insurance’s Rich Griffin, Bayou Title’s Brent Laliberte and Continental Title’s Elizabeth Daniel stressed the importance of consistency and being willing to adapt to change and leverage new technologies.

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AM Best has placed credit ratings for CATIC “under review with developing implications,” saying the status “reflects CATIC’s efforts to strengthen the balance sheet to support business expansion and stabilize pressure on its balance sheet strength assessment.”

The company’s surplus deterioration in recent years is due to the culmination of negative implications arising from the interest rate environment and dividends outpacing net results, AM Best added.

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Radian Group Inc. showed increases in title insurance services revenue and title net premiums earned in its second quarter earnings report.

Second quarter title insurance net premiums earned came in at $2,913 compared with $1,858 in the first quarter and $2,697 in the second quarter of last year.

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CloseSimple’s collaboration portal has eclipsed 1 million views since its launch two years ago. The portal provides title companies with services including eSigning and fraud prevention, the company stated.

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Doma Title Insurance has appointed a long-time title insurance leader in the Midwest as its new Northeast region underwriting counsel.

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Monthly housing payments have dropped to their lowest level in four months, but homebuyers and sellers are not yet reacting, a new Redfin report found.

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Intercontinental Exchange recently acquired The Closing Exchange (TCX), with TCX founder Alan Frelix remaining on as company president.

Frelix sat down with The Title Report to go over what led to the acquisition, his role under new ownership and business aspirations for the near future.

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Stewart Information Services Corp. reported year-over-year increases in companywide and title segment revenue in the second quarter, with title earnings growing to $496 million.

Companywide and title segment earnings were also up compared with the first quarter of 2024 when they amounted to $554 million and $451 million, respectively.

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First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming shared his opinion on recent calls to do away with or drastically reform the title insurance industry.

The responsibility of collecting and maintaining property records that underpin the reliability of every real estate transaction in the country falls to the private sector, specifically the title insurance industry, he said.

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SoftPro announced a new integration with Metropolitan Commercial Bank for the management of wire transfers of real estate transactions.

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Cybersecurity and IT provider Premier One has appointed a new CEO, promoting its chief operating officer who’d been in that position for three years.

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Luxury home value growth, which has consistently lagged the market’s middle tier over the past several years, has outpaced appreciation on typical homes for five consecutive months, according to Zillow.

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Old Republic International Corp. reported a second quarter increase in title insurance net premiums and fees earned compared to the first three months of 2024.

Directly produced revenues grew in both the second quarter and first half of 2024, whereas agency produced revenues increased slightly for the quarter and declined for the first six months.

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Williston Financial Group subsidiary MyHome has launched WFG 1031, providing 1031 exchange services in partnership with  Accruit LLC.

Customers who use WFG 1031, LLC will benefit from seamless and transparent transactions while keeping more of their real estate transaction business under the WFG umbrella, company leaders said.

Read on to find out more information about the new service.

Ohio-based reAlpha Tech Corp. has acquired a majority stake in a Florida title company that’s also licensed in Virginia and Tennessee.

This strategic acquisition adds title and settlement services under the reAlpha umbrella and enhances the capabilities of Claire, its generative AI-powered (artificial intelligence) homebuying platform.

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St. Louis-based Title Partners Agency has named a new president as its CEO and founder prepares to step away from leadership.

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A new partnership between Voxtur Analytics Corp. and non-agency mortgage aggregator Deephaven will aim to enhance the agility and responsiveness of Deephaven's service delivery.

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The number of cities with ‘million-dollar’ starter homes has nearly tripled since 2019, growing from 84 five years ago to 237 today, according to Zillow.

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Philadelphia-based Trusted Land Transfer has acquired a title business in New Jersey, marking the company’s first physical location in the Garden State.

Executive Chairman Bob Marino sat down with The Title Report to detail what led up to the move, the Philadelphia housing market and future plans for expansion.

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First American Financial’s second quarter earnings report shows a marginal year-over-year drop in companywide and title segment revenue, but an increase in direct premiums and escrow fees.

Agent premiums, which are recorded on approximately a one-quarter lag relative to direct premiums, declined 1 percent compared with last year.

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A second quarter report from FundingShield showed roughly half of transactions were at risk for wire or title fraud, citing factors including disparate systems and lack of appropriate controls.

An increase in title-related claims was noticed as well as execution errors by closing agents, meaning a thorough review process is needed by lenders at the transaction level, FundingShield added.

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Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. added a long-time industry leader as its new Virginia agency manager for its Mid-Atlantic States region.

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An integration between Radian Group’s titlegenius platform and real estate marketplace FIZBER will provide for sale by owner sellers with end-to-end title and closing services backed by real-time updates and support.

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Roughly two in three home listings in June sat on the market for more than a month, a significant jump compared to a year ago, according to Redfin.

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DocMagic, Inc. announced the passing of its founder, President and CEO Dominic Iannitti.

Iannitti is credited with automating the loan document preparation, management, and delivery processes; pioneering eVault and eSign capabilities; introducing the first end-to-end eClosing platform; and many other notable mortgage technology advancements. 

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More than a third of U.S. businesses have experienced a deepfake security incident in the past year, research by ISMS.online, the auditor-approved compliance platform, has found.

Thirty-five percent of organizations experienced a deepfake incident in the last 12 months. Artificial intelligence-powered deepfakes pose a new threat compared to more well-known methods of attack like social engineering and ransomware.

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SoftPro announced an integration with Rexera that will allow users to place and receive orders for homeowner association certificates, mortgage payoffs and municipal lien searches.

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Doma Title Insurance, Inc. has brought on a long-time title industry attorney as its new vice president and regional underwriting counsel for Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

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A home price growth cooling trend is likely to persist, but don’t expect any major price declines, according to First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming.

Read on to learn more.