News By Edition

The Federal Reserve announced a half percent, or 50-basis point, cut to interest rates Sept. 18, ending a two-year period of rate hikes that spelled significantly reduced property transaction volume.

Multiple title industry leaders shared their thoughts on the cut with The Title Report, detailing what to expect  – and when – as rates take effect.

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Title Resources Group’s previously announced acquisition of Doma Holdings, Inc. has closed. Doma Title Insurance is now a wholly owned subsidiary of TRG.

Florida-based La Rosa Holdings Corp. has announced its intent to acquire a real estate brokerage firm employing nearly 1,000 agents across offices in multiple states.

In August, La Rosa finalized its acquisition of Nona Title Agency, which at the time was operating in Orlando, Fla., under the name Red Door Title.

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A recent report shows the global title insurance market nearly tripling in size by 2032 with estimates also calling for an 11.3 percent compound annual growth rate.

Expectations for an increase in transactions and “digital influence” are boosting growth projections. Additionally, the rising number of aggregators and digital brokers positively impacts growth of the title insurance market, the report states.

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Small-business job openings remain at exceptionally high levels while job creation plans decrease, according to recent data from the National Federation of Independent Business.

Around 40 percent (of small-business owners reported job openings they could not fill in August, up two points from July, data revealed.

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First American Financial Corp. added a long-time chief marketing officer with a reputation for developing transformational corporate strategy to its board of directors.

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Title and escrow accounting production platform provider Settlor is launching a new customizable workflow feature. Benefits include the ability to create a task only on a specific order type

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Despite high mortgage rates pushing down demand, historically low inventory keeps pushing up home prices, and therefore values, according to Redfin.

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Artificial intelligence’s increasing role in all forms of business is prompting a rise in cybersecurity concerns, according to a recent study. Alanna.ai President Hoyt Mann and Pythonic CEO Matt Younkle sat down with The Title Report to share insight.

With title insurance companies relying heavily on third-party vendors for things like AI solutions, both Younkle and Mann stressed the importance of rigorous vendor management processes.

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A pair of title insurance industry stalwarts have established a new 1031 exchange company in Grand Rapids, Mich., promising an added focus on cybersecurity.

The company said it employs cutting-edge email filtering, endpoint detection and response,and email eavesdropping prevention tools to secure and encrypt all communications.

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Snapdocs’ survey of more than 2,000 U.S. homebuyers revealed the mortgage process was “confusing and inaccurate, inconvenient, or more costly than expected,” with the majority of issues occurring during closing.

Key factors borrowers identified as negatively impacting their experience included document errors, lengthy in-person appointments and unexpected caretaking and travel costs.

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Zillow Group has brought on a new senior vice president of agent sales, tapping a long-time chief revenue officer and leader at multiple large institutions.

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RamQuest and homeowners’ association document provider Rexera announced a new integration, connecting RamQuest’s Closing Market with Rexera.

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A second quarter report from property data curator ATTOM showed nationwide home mortgage lending increasing significantly over the first quarter, the first gain in a year.

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CertifID has doubled its maximum wire fraud coverage tier to meet rising business demand and housing values, the company recently announced.

The newly available  limit expands the direct, first-party insurance program for wire transfers that CertifID has provided to its customers for roughly four years.

Read on to find out more information about the expanded coverage.

Main Street owners grapple with uncertainty as sales expectations decrease, according to new data from the National Federation of Independent Business.

The frequency of reports of positive profit trends in August was a net negative 37 percent (seasonally adjusted), seven points worse than in July and the lowest since March 2010.

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Stewart Title has brought on a long-time senior national counsel as its new chief underwriting counsel for direct operations.

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First National Title Insurance Co. has signed on as an early adopter of Flueid’s verification of title solution for purchase, extending the title data and decisioning process to its agent network.

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Redfin reported condo inventory is soaring and pending sales are dropping in major Florida and Texas metros like Miami, Jacksonville, Austin and San Antonio, causing prices to decline.

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Recent expert commentary on adoption of remote online notarization, eClosing and eNotes was shared by Jay Hollis, executive vice president and general manager at Pavaso.

He cited some industry members as more eager than others to embrace digital tools but said many remain cautious due to concerns over regulatory compliance, security and the need for retraining staff.

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Florida-based Achieva Credit Union has acquired a Sunshine State neighbor and rebranded it as an in-house title services division.

The new title services division will specialize in overseeing all real estate transactions, including title and abstract searches, preparing closing documents and providing title insurance, as well as resolving liens.

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AmTrust Title, a subsidiary of AmTrust Financial Services, has rebranded a residential title company that it acquired in 2022 and is licensed to operate in 40 states as well as Washington, D.C.

AmTrust Title now has three main divisions: AmTrust Title Insurance Co., AMT Title Services and AmTrust Energy and Commercial.

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Doma Title Insurance has brought on a title industry veteran with more than two decades of experience to serve as its agency manager in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

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Pythonic Corp. has added South Carolina-based Blair Cato Pickren and Casterline, LLC, as its latest client within the title and escrow industry.

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Nearly three in five homebuyers put down more than 10 percent of the purchase price in June, one of the highest shares on record, according to Redfin.

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With a looming interest rate cut poised to spur transaction volume and home equity lending, Dan Bailey, senior vice president of WFG Enterprise Solutions and WFG Lender Services, sat down with The Title Report to share insight.

Bailey emphasized that today’s homeowners are looking for quick access to their equity in comparison to what was expected in the past.

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A trio of women and industry veterans in the Phoenix area have founded NorthStar Title Agency, recently commencing operations in Scottsdale, Ariz., with plans for expansion.

The new company focuses on high-end residential and complex commercial deals, while remaining versatile to handle all types of transactions in Arizona.

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American Eagle Title Insurance Co. announced a new integration with RamQuest, providing customers access to American Eagle’s underwriter services within existing title production solutions.

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Idaho-based Title Financial Corp. has tapped a 20-plus-year title industry veteran known for leading artificial intelligence as its new corporate title compliance director.

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New data from Zillow shows improved affordability is keeping competition among homebuyers alive well into the fall, a time when the real estate market usually slows down.

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Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. is launching val-ID, a new ID verification tool developed with help from Intellicheck and GridBase.

The new tool features a dashboard that provides title agents with real-time tracking of ID verification status. Validation methods include state-issued IDs, passports and support for foreign transactions.

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Blockchain and real estate technology developer Ubitquity is readying the launch of NFTitle Network 4.0, promising a host of operational improvements.

OneClick Mint functions now reportedly operate 200 percent faster to pave way for speedier NFT minting and blockchain recording. Integration between CipherBPA and OneClick Mint has also been optimized.

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A new National Federation of Independent Business survey focused on the construction, manufacturing, retail, and services industries showed renewed optimism among owners.

The Optimism Index for the construction industry was 98.6, an increase of 6.3 points from the previous quarter and 4.9 points higher than the overall Optimism Index.

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Tulsa, Okla.-based Title Clearing & Escrow has brought on a new senior vice president of business development and client relations manager.

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Artificial intelligence-driven title production provider Dono announced it has achieved SOC2 Type II certification, showing adherence to top industry data security protocols.

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The mortgage rate lock-in effect is prompting many homeowners to stay put, contributing to America’s housing shortage, but it's starting to ease, according to Redfin.

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