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MBA report examines borrower outcomes following pandemic relief program - The report examined the impact of the $10 billion Homeowner Assistance Fund, a federal program launched in 2021 to support homeowners affected by the pandemic.
Ardán Inc. names new president, chief operating officer - Ardán Inc.’s new president and chief operating officer has experience in financial, operations and business development in title, financial and real estate industries.
ALTA study focuses on detailed work involved with researching, resolving title issues - A new report from the American Land Title Association casts a spotlight on the research, analysis and problem-solving that title professionals do to produce a clean and insurable title.
Title Company of Florida launches tool to keep parties updated on transaction - The Title Company of Florida’s new communications tool features secure document and payment portals and fraud-prevention communication safeguards.
Empower LOS integrates with Snapdocs - Closing teams can use the two-way integration between the Empower loan origination system and Snapdocs to generate orders, track transaction progress with status updates and automate closing and funding workflows.
Argyle integrates with Vesta to embed direct-source verifications - Through Argyle’s integration with Vesta lenders can order, view and refresh Argyle’s verification of income, employment and assets within the Vesta loan origination system.
ATTOM: Homes less affordable than historic averages in 97 percent of counties analyzed - According to ATTOM’s first-quarter 2026 Home Affordability Report, significant monthly expenses for median-priced single-family homes and condos exceeded historic norms in 560 out of 580 counties analyzed.
Opendoor acquires Doma’s closing, escrow operations - Opendoor announced it will acquire Doma’s closing and escrow operations, and the two companies will partner with Fannie Mae on the Title Acceptance Program, which uses algorithmic risk assessment rather than a manual title search for eligible refinance transactions.
AM Best affirms financial strength, credit ratings for Premier Land Title Insurance - AM Best has assessed Premier Land Title Insurance Co.’s balance sheet strength as very strong and noted that strength is supported by its risk adjusted capitalization.
Economist: Housing affordability improved in all 50 states, reaches best level since 2022 - Lower mortgage rates, slowing nominal house price growth and rising household income combined to improve housing affordability across the country, according to First American Chief Economist Mark Fleming.
Brady & Kosofsky appoints new CEO - The new chief executive officer will lead the firm’s day-to-day business, guiding strategy, operations, technology and team development.
Argyle launches verification product for mortgage lenders - Argyle’s new 3-in-1 Verification Suite helps mortgage lenders manage verification of income, employment and assets through one interface.
Redfin: Almost 14 percent of home-sale agreements fell through in February - The share is about 1 percent than it was a year earlier and it’s the highest percentage in the month of February in records dating back to 2017, according to Redfin.
FinCEN compliance firm recommends agents continue collecting reporting rule data - Although the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network stated residential real estate reports do not currently have to be filed with the agency following a recent court decision, the CEO of a firm that helps companies comply with the rule told The Title Report he recommends settlement agents continue collecting the information.
Stewart enhances virtual underwriter product - Enhanced search functionality and the introduction of an AI-powered virtual underwriter agent, VU Explorer, are among the improvements announced by Stewart Information Services Corp. for its virtual underwriter platform.
New firm aims to build alignment between real estate, title agents -Access Network will offer an ecosystem where real estate agents can align with other businesses surrounding homeownership, such as title, mortgage and insurance.
Fidelity welcomes new team member - The new hire brings leadership experience across title, mortgage, and brokerage services, with a track record of building and scaling businesses in real estate markets.
Docutech, ICE integrate on tech platform - The framework connects Docutech and ICE solutions in a single integration with improved disclosure tracking support and automated service ordering.
Redfin reports there are 630,000 more home sellers than buyers - Redfin says that’s the largest gap in records dating back to 2013 and is up from 29.8 percent (or 449,409) a year earlier.
Lenders report growing interest in non-traditional homes, down payment assistance programs - HomeLight released its Lender Insights & Predictions report for the second quarter of 2026, which reported an increase in foreclosure activity.
Blend reports increase in Q4, full-year 2025 revenues - The fourth quarter and full-year 2025 revenue for Blend Labs Inc. increased by 7 percent, according to the firm’s preliminary earnings report.
AgentBrief unveils homebuyer trend reporting, new platform features - AgentBrief is offering a Buyer Trend Analysis report that will equip title representatives with neighborhood-level demographic intelligence that they can pass along to real estate agents during outreach efforts.
NFIB: Small-business owners feel more certain about the coming months - Despite the 0.5-point decline in optimism, higher sales and increased profits made February “a more positive month” for many small-business owners, according to NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg.
InfoQuery Connector for Resware now available - InfoQuery LLC announced the availability of the InfoQuery Connector, which empowers Resware users to build advanced automations and AI-driven workflows using no-code and low-code tools.
Redfin: 3 in 5 think AI will eliminate jobs, making it tougher to afford homes - A Redfin survey found a similar amount of Democrats (63 percent) and Republicans (57 percentage) thought advances in artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs and decrease consumers’ ability to purchase homes.
ATTOM: Homes flipped by investors accounted for 7.4 percent of all 2025 home sales - Homes flipped by investors accounted for 7.4 percent of all home sales in 2025, down slightly from 2024, according to ATTOM’s 2025 year-end U.S. Home Flipping Report.
Representative calls for reconciliation of 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act versions - Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) sent a letter to the House Democratic Caucus calling for a conference committee to reconcile the House- and Senate-passed versions of the “21st Century ROAD to Housing Act.”
Propy acquires Florida law firm’s title division as part of AI-led roll-up strategy - Propy’s multimillion dollar acquisition of a Florida law firm’s title division expands Propy into the institutional market, including three of the country’s largest residential real estate investment trusts.
Housing market will slowly trend upward in 2026, experts say - Economists and title professionals told The Title Report they expect a steady, gradual uptick in the housing market this year.
First American: Home price growth dips year-over-year for first time since 2012 - Annual home price growth had its first year-over-year decline since 2012, according to First American Data & Analytics’ February 2026 Home Price Index report.
ServiceLink adds four members to its sales team - These professionals have 50-plus years in cumulative experience in the industry.
Dono rolls out title search and report generation features on SoftPro Sync - After receiving title search orders from SoftPro users, Dono now conducts the searches, and the completed report and data deliver back into the user’s system through Sync.
Redfin: Oldest Americans held about one-quarter of real estate wealth - The share of real estate wealth held by 70-plus year olds surpassed that of 40-54 year olds for the first time on record during the second quarter of 2025, according to a report from Redfin.
Recruiting firm founder gives ‘State of the Title Industry’ outlook - The Title Report caught up with Anderson Biro co-founder Eric Biro, who discussed how as the market continues to stabilize, recruiting activity is accelerating quickly and retention strategies need to be a priority.
SoftPro expands FinCEN compliance tool by adding direct eFiling - SoftPro is the only title production software provider that is offering a direct eFiling integration with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for the Residential Real Estate Report rule.
Beeline Holdings enters partnership with blockchain-enabled real estate platform - : Beeline Holdings Inc. will facilitate the sale of prime residential real estate fractional equity transactions on behalf of the blockchain-enabled platform under the BeelineEquity brand.
Stewart hires Nathan Bossers as group senior VP, national title and settlement - Stewart Information Services Corp. named Nathan Bossers to work in this position, which will include providing strategic and operational leadership across Stewart’s centralized and national title businesses.
Westcor hires new Michigan underwriting counsel - The new underwriting counsel for Westcor, in his previous job, worked on transactions such as housing for homeless veterans, luxury single-family and multi-family developments, skilled nursing facilities, and low-income housing developments.
ATTOM: Foreclosure activity in U.S. up 20 percent year-over-year - February was the 12th consecutive month that saw a yearly increase in foreclosure activity in the country, per ATTOM’s February U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.
Pending home sales increase in February - Pending home sales in February increased by nearly 2 percent from January and, according to the National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales report.
Qualia Clear 2.0 offers increased automation in processing title files - Nate Baker, CEO and co-founder of Qualia, told The Title Report that fully automated transactions are “no longer theoretical” as his company launched the agentic artificial intelligence system Qualia Clear 2.0.
Closinglock unveils automated closing updates - Closinglock’s new automated notification system will automatically deliver customized email and text messages to impacted parties when significant milestones occur in a real estate transaction. Closinglock CEO Andy White discussed the impact of the new technology with The Title Report.
Westcor rolls out agency product solutions group - The newly established Westcor Agency Product Solutions will be led by Bettina Arthur, who will oversee coordination across Westcor-developed platforms and third-party partner offerings.
Covius hires new senior VP of business development - Covius’ new senior vice president of business development will lead strategic business development initiatives focused on expanding the firm’s settlement services in support of the new T365 brand and accelerating the growth across the division.
FirstClose POS tool adds home equity workflow - FirstClose’s point-of-sale experience known as XpressEquity will be combined with a refreshed Encompass by ICE Mortgage Technology integration that delivers an end-to-end digital workflow for home equity originations.
Redfin: About 20 percent of homeowners could save money by refinancing - : More homeowners are considering a refinance this year in part because mortgage rates dropped down to 6 percent in February and early March, the lowest level in 3 1/2 years.
Executive orders aim to increase housing supply, mortgage credit availability - President Donald Trump issued two executive orders which aim to streamline federal permitting requirements for residential developments and to reform the origination of qualified mortgages.
Senate passes legislation to boost housing availability, limit institutional investors - The Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to #Housing Act on March 12. Some trade advocates expressed concerns over certain revisions. #appraisalbias #investors
Allied Title and Escrow launches operations in two new states - The addition of two states means that Allied Title and Escrow now provides services to residential clients in 14 states. “We’re not just expanding geographically, we’re expanding the experience,” said CEO Latane Meade.
Another suit filed against FinCEN reporting rule - The Puerto Rico Privacy Association is arguing the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network residential real estate reporting rule's information collection mandates could put those involved in such transactions at risk for doxxing or identity theft.
How to build strong relationships within the title industry - Two industry leaders discuss what it takes to build successful and compliant relationships between title agents and Realtors.
Snapdocs hires VP of lender growth - Snapdocs recently announced the hiring of a department vice president. The new staffer will partner with lenders to accelerate digital adoption and enhance connectivity across the mortgage ecosystem.
ICE says MERS eRegistry surpasses 3 million eNotes - MERS System data shows that lenders at the forefront of eNote adoption are now registering between 30 percent and 80 percent of their originations digitally, according to the Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.
ATTOM: Home prices dropped slightly in fourth quarter, but are still historically high - Florida counties accounted for 16 of the 50 riskiest counties, according to ATTOM’s Housing Risk Report.
Community Title Network acquires Maryland-based title company - Buyers Title’s leader said the move will allow her company to use CTN’s resources to enhance the work they do with their clients and referral partners.
Rezervology, Titl partner on AI tool to enhance title search workflows - Rezervology and Titl teamed up on an artificial intelligence solution designed to streamline and accelerate title search workflows. It is expected to cut production timelines to minutes while reducing the risk of error.
Acrisure Title of Texas expands footprint - Acrisure Title of Texas is opening an office in Sugar Land, Texas, to support the growing demand for title services in the region.
Westcor hires new agency rep for Pacific Northwest - Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. has a new agency representative. This individual has supported residential and commercial transactions for the past two decades.
Zillow, Google team up to provide home-buying guidance in NotebookLM - Zillow and Google will team up to launch NotebookLM, where users can ask home-buying questions and get answers grounded in Zillow’s guidance.
Redfin: Home relistings hit highest January level in 10 years - For a lot of people who delisted their homes, the “try again later” part — aka relisting — is happening now, according to Redfin.
Senators release section analysis of 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act legislative package - Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released the text of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act legislative complex, along with a section-by-section analysis of the act. If passed into law, the act aimed at boosting housing supply and bringing down costs would mark the largest legislative housing package in decades.
Compass reports strongest Q4 results in history - Robert Reffkin, founder and CEO of Compass, said the firm had its strongest fourth quarter results in its history, with $1.7 billion in revenue.
Majority of Federal Reserve Districts report upswing in economic activity - While seven of the 12 Federal Reserve Districts reported a slight to moderate rise in overall economic activity in the latest Beige Book report, residential real estate activity declined in most districts.
NFIB: Small Business Employment Index rises slightly - The National Federation of Independent Business current Small Business Employment Index reading is 3.5 points above the historical average of 100.
Qleario hires chief strategy officer to launch advisory division - Qleario has a new administrator to head up the launch of Qleario’s advisory division known as Qlear Tech Insight.
Optimal Blue unveils AI-driven forecasting tool for mortgage capital markets - Optimal Blue is rolling out Virtual Economist, an on-demand forecasting tool for mortgage capital markets leader that is fueled by artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Redfin: Homebuying affordability improves as mortgage rates drop to lowest level in three years - A declining mortgage rate coupled with rising wages are improving homebuying affordability, according to Redfin.
A conversation with the president of Westcor Land Title - Steven Black, chief operating officer (COO) and president of Westcor Land Title Insurance Co., recently spoke with The Title Report about the leadership qualities necessary for title business success, as well as other key issues within the industry.
Radian reports dip in net income, increase in book value per share in Q4 - Radian Group Inc. reported net income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $159 million. This was a 3 percent decline from the $164 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Spring homebuying season may break out of three-year slump - During the last five years, house-buying power has fluctuated, but is now in surplus territory for the first time since 2022, said First American Senior Economist Sam Williamson.
CATIC hires agency advisor for New England sales team - CATIC has hired an agency advisor for its New England sales team. The new hire will use a paralegal background to work closely with attorneys and title professionals to serve the firm’s Connecticut agency base.
Clear Title Agency of Arizona unveils FinCEN reporting solution - Clear Title has rolled out a FinCEN reporting solution within its own operations and is now making it available to their customers and clients to assist them in complying with the FinCEN Residential Real Estate Rule.
Redfin: Median age of first-time homebuyer drops slightly - Since 2018, the typical first-time homebuying age has declined by three years to 35, according to Redfin.
Panel discusses innovating the title industry with technology - The Title Report spoke with some of the panelists who presented the topic “Women Who Lead: Innovating Title Through Tech" at the TitleCON conference in Nashville, Tenn.
Florida Agency Network unveils title company to serve commercial, luxury residential markets - The new title and settlement services company was formed in affiliation with a law firm and will focus on commercial real estate and luxury residential deals.
Investors Title net income, revenue drops in Q4, but rises for full year 2025 - Investors Title Co. Chairman J. Allen Fine said the firm is reporting its “highest level of profits since 2021.”
Title Resources Group selects new regional underwriting counsel for Texas, Oklahoma - Title Resources Group has a new counsel who will provide underwriting support and guidance to TRG’s title agents throughout the Southwest.
FirstClose, TruStage partner to make lending documentation process more efficient - Through the recently announced FirstClose and TruStage partnership, TruStage will embed its document engine within the FirstClose platform.
C&W recently announced the return of a key executive within its Valuation & Advisory Affordable Housing practice. Dodd Frank Update asked him about what can be expected with respect to the #housing sector.
Redfin: Almost 1 in 7 home sales fell through in January - Home sales are falling at a higher rate because the current buyer’s market gives buyers negotiating power, but some buyers are backing out due to financial uncertainty, according to Redfin.
Fidelity reports increase in title revenue in both Q4, full year of 2025 - Fidelity National Financial Inc. saw its title insurance revenue increase by 11 percent year-over-year in both the fourth quarter and full year of 2025. Fidelity CEO Mike Nolan praised his employees, whom he called “the best title professionals in the industry.”
Rocket, Compass team up to increase home listing inventory - The firms’ three-year alliance is designed to more than 500,000 additional home listings on to Redfin’s platform and enhance the affordable homebuying and selling experience.
Economist: Home affordability improved in all 50 states in 2025 - In December, the First American Data & Analytics Real House Price Index (RHPI) showed home affordability improved nearly 9 percent compared with December 2024.
Westcor Land Title works with Anderson | Biro to hire three new staffers - Anderson | Biro played a critical role in hiring an underwriting counsel, a state manager and a sales representative for Westcor.
Ubitquity launches AI platform to locate title defects - Ubiquity has a new platform using advanced AI models to search property titles for liens, forgery, chain-of-title gaps, encumbrances and other typical defects.
Zillow: Home buying power up by $30,000 from one year ago - With incomes rising and mortgage rates declining, a median-income household can now comfortably purchase a $331,483 home with a 20 percent down payment, according to a Zillow analysis.
Brokers, industry insider push for reforms to improve housing affordability - @NAMB offered a series of potential solutions to ongoing concerns about elevated home prices in a new #whitepaper. One industry insider said #downpayment assistance is “essential” to this goal in comments provided to Dodd Frank Update. #housing #affordability
First American reports year-over-year increase in title revenue in Q4 - First American Financial Corp. reported its title insurance and services revenue rose by 21 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2025. Company CEO Mark Seaton said his team is “reimagining” its title and escrow business with help from artificial intelligence.
CertifID expands platform to include closing processes - CertifID’s expanded platform gives users a place to open a file, verify an identity and send an information request with the eSign feature.
NFIB: Optimism rises for all industries except construction - The National Federation of Independent Business Research recently released a survey that revealed the Optimism Index for the manufacturing industry rose by 3.6 points from October, while that rating increased by 0.3 points for retail, and 3.7 points for service. The Index for construction dropped by 2.5 points.
CATIC announces promotions in Mid-Atlantic region - CATIC announces promotions. Operations, legal activities and business development are some of the responsibilities of the newly promoted leaders in the company’s Mid-Atlantic region.
Settlor, TRG launch integration to provide more resources for title agents - Settlor and Title Resources Group recently announced an integration. The agreement between the two companies will allow customers to order and cancel closing protection letters and policy jacket documents directly from their production platforms instead of having to enter a second portal.
Redfin: U.S. has 44 percent more home sellers than buyers - A recent report from Redfin showed the gap between home sellers and buyers is 14 percent higher year-over-year.
Fidelity loses legal challenge of FinCEN reporting rule - The legal challenge by Fidelity National Financial, along with its subsidiary Fidelity National Title Insurance Co., against the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) residential real estate reporting rule has come to an end.
Lawmakers questioning attorney general on review of Compass-Anywhere Real Estate merger - A contingent of U.S. Senate and House Democrats and one Senate Independent are raising concerns about the U.S. Department of Justice’s review of the $1.6 billion merger between Compass and Anywhere Real Estate and have asked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to provide more information.
First American: Home prices drop in January but rise slightly year-over-year - First American Data & Analytics’ January 2026 Home Price Index report showed home prices declined from December 2025 but increased by about one-half of 1 percent compared with January 2025.
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