Hot Topics

FOR YEARS, the title industry has taken efforts to protect Social Security numbers and other personal information of individuals involved in real estate transactions. Recent redaction measures are intended to shield the location and other personal information of individuals with recognized safety concerns from being accessible through documents contained in public records. While there is a need to shield protected classes with recognized privacy concerns, this must be addressed in a way that does not hinder the ability to complete transactions in a timely fashion.

The U.S. Secret Service issued an advisory warning of a drastic increase in wire transfer fraud related to real estate transactions and mortgages.

Use this checklist to help you purchase the best cyber insurance policy for your company. Step 1. Determine If You Need Cyber Insurance. Things to consider include: Your company handles sensitive information which includes, but is not limited to, ePHI or PII....

The numbers: New-home construction surged after winter weather had caused a slowdown in February, at a time when the housing market desperately needs more inventory to meet burgeoning demand from first-time buyers.

U.S. home builders started construction on homes at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.74 million in March, representing a 19% jump from the previous month’s upwardly-revised figure, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday. Compared with March 2020, housing starts were up a notable 37%.

As housing professionals navigate regulatory changes and accelerated tech adoption, wire and title fraud risk factors in mortgage and real estate closings increased almost 90% in the last quarter. According to an analysis by MISMO-certified wire and title fraud prevention Fintech FundingShield, wire and title fraud risk factors in mortgage and real estate closings saw an increase of 87.79% overall across all transaction types in Q1 2021. These risk factors increased from 19.02% in Q4 2020 to 35.75% in Q1 2021.

The coronavirus pandemic upended the housing market. With vaccines being widely distributed, new Zillow surveys signal what’s likely to change and what’s expected to remain when the pandemic ends
“As the pandemic subsides and the economy begins to recover, lowered health risks and renewed homeowner financial confidence should bring more sellers to the market,” Zillow Economist Arpita Chakravorty said in a release. “That increased inventory would ease buyer competition that has driven prices higher during the pandemic, but expect a steady pace of home-value growth to persist into the near future.”