Alanna.ai, Settlor Partner to Give Title Firms Technology Options for FinCEN Compliance
January 30 2026 | |
Alanna.ai and Settlor have announced their collaboration in developing flexible technology solutions to ensure title and escrow companies comply with new federal regulatory reporting requirements under the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Anti-Money Laundering (FinCEN) rule, which are scheduled to take effect March 1, 2026.
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NotaryCam surpasses 2 million lifetime notarizations, doubles credit card transaction volume in 2025
January 30 2026 | |
“2025 was a pivotal year for NotaryCam as we saw record adoption of remote online notarization across real estate, servicing and credit workflows,” said Brian Webster, president and CEO of NotaryCam. “Surpassing the 2 million notarization milestone reflects not only the scalability of our technology, but the trust our clients place in us to deliver secure, compliant and reliable digital transactions."
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Propy Raises $100 Million to Reimagine Real Estate Transactions With AI
January 29 2026 | |
Propy plans to acquire firms generating $5 million to $20 million in annual revenue across California, Texas, Tennessee, and other states, retaining local teams while using automation to increase volume and expand margins. Acquired firms are upgraded with automated workflows that cut manual workloads by up to 70%, with blockchain used as supporting infrastructure for auditability and settlement security.
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Title Company Owner Sentenced for Embezzlement
January 29 2026 | |
Jonathan Yasko (46, Winter Springs) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julie S. Sneed to 27 months in federal prison for wire fraud. Yasko pleaded guilty on May 22, 2025. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement. According to court documents, Yasko owned or controlled various title companies that conducted real estate settlement services and issued title insurance policies on behalf of title insurance underwriters.
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Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
January 28 2026 | |
“Mortgage rates increased for the first time in a month, and as expected, refinance applications fell by 16 percent. The 30-year fixed rate was the highest in three weeks at 6.24 percent,” said MBA’s Joel Kan, Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “FHA refinance activity bucked the overall trend and increased, as FHA rates remained almost 20 basis points lower than conforming rates. With rates holding in the 6 percent range, the refinance market is likely to remain sensitive to week-to-week rate movements.”
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NAR and .RealEstate Unveil All-New Digital Experience for Real Estate Professionals
January 27 2026 | |
.RealEstate, an official partner of the National Association of REALTORS®, today announced a major product evolution, unveiling a new unified digital platform that helps real estate professionals build, launch and manage their online presence in one place. The launch follows the company’s August 2025 rebrand from Get.Realtor to .RealEstate and reflects its shift from domains to a broader digital branding and marketing ecosystem.
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Alanna.ai Launches Legacy Data Connector To Access Historical Title Production Data
January 22 2026 | |
"The title industry has evolved rapidly, and many agencies have moved to newer production platforms while leaving behind mountains of critical data in their legacy systems," Mann said. "That historical information about past policies and completed transactions represents a tremendous asset, but accessing it typically means staff hunting through old systems, manually copying information or re-keying data they've already entered once before. We built the Legacy Data Connector to unlock that data and put it to work for our customers."
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NAHB Urges Congress to Ease Regulatory Burdens to Help Housing Affordability
January 22 2026 | |
“Regulations account for nearly 25% of the cost of a single-family home and more than 40% of the cost of a typical apartment development,” said Hughes. “The time and costs associated with complying with a multitude of government regulations can be significant for small- and medium-sized builders and ultimately limit housing supply.”
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NAR Pending Home Sales Report Shows 9.3% Decrease in December
January 21 2026 | |
“The housing sector is not out of the woods yet,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “After several months of encouraging signs in pending contracts and closed sales, the December new contract figures have dampened the short-term outlook.”
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Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
January 21 2026 | |
“Mortgage rates declined further last week, driving another big week for refinance applications, which saw the strongest level of activity since September 2025. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 6.16 percent, the lowest rate since September 2024,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “These lower rates prompted greater refinance activity from conventional and VA refinance borrowers, with increases of 29 percent and 26 percent, respectively. Refinance applications accounted for more than 60 percent of applications, and the average loan size also moved higher.”
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First American Title Launches Free Property Title Monitoring and Fraud Alert Service for Eligible Customers
January 21 2026 | |
First American Title Insurance Company, a leading provider of title insurance and settlement services and the largest subsidiary of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF), today announced the company now offers its customers a free property title monitoring and fraud alert service, providing an important layer of protection for homeowners amid rising real estate fraud risk. With cyber-enabled losses exceeding $13.7 billion in 2024, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report, and increasingly sophisticated fraudsters targeting record levels of equity held by U.S. homeowners, proactive monitoring for potential fraudulent activity has never been more valuable.
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CATIC Foundation Announces 25th Anniversary Grant Award Recipients
January 19 2026 | |
The CATIC Foundation, which is the philanthropic arm of CATIC Financial, Inc., recently celebrated 25 years of meaningful service to the community. Since its inception in 2000, the Foundation has provided support to Bar-Related® entities and other nonprofit organizations that exist for the education of lawyers, and for the advancement of the legal profession. The CATIC Foundation has also supported a variety of nonprofit organizations engaged in charitable works in various local communities.
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Builder Sentiment Loses Ground at Start of 2026
January 16 2026 | |
“While the upper end of the housing market is holding steady, affordability conditions are taking a toll on the lower and mid-range sectors,” said NAHB Chairman Buddy Hughes, a home builder and developer from Lexington, N.C. “Buyers are concerned about high home prices and mortgage rates, with downpayments particularly challenging given elevated price to income ratios.”
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Remodeling Market Sentiment Strengthens in Fourth Quarter of 2025
January 15 2026 | |
“Most remodelers are finding reasonably strong market conditions, even with the normal seasonal slowdown during the holidays,” said NAHB Remodelers Chair Nicole Goolsby Morrison, a remodeler from Raleigh, N.C. “However, rising costs and customer hesitation due to economic and policy uncertainty remain key challenges for the industry.”
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December New Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Increased 2.5 Percent
January 15 2026 | |
“December purchase activity for newly built homes continued to run stronger than last year, despite cooling slightly from the prior month,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “New homes remain a viable option for many homebuyers given that there is a relatively large number of new homes available for sale, which has prompted incentives and price reductions from builders in some markets."
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Attorney General Brown Announces $850,000 in Restitution for Maryland Consumers in Settlement with Title Insurance Companies
January 14 2026 | |
Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced today that his Consumer Protection Division has entered into a settlement with Maryland-based KVS Title, LLC (KVS Title), a real estate title company, and joint venture companies that KVS formed with real estate agents and brokers in order to sell title insurance to consumers. The joint venture companies were Alliance Title Services, LLC; Clear Title Solutions, LLC; Eversure Title, LLC; Realty Settlement Solutions, LLC; Title Pro Group, LLC; and Washington Title Team, LLC.
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Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
January 14 2026 | |
“Mortgage rates dropped lower last week following the announcement of increased MBS purchases by the GSEs. Lower rates, including the 30-year fixed rate declining to 6.18 percent, sparked an increase in refinance applications,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Compared to a holiday adjusted week, refinance applications surged 40 percent to the strongest weekly pace since October 2025. The average loan size for refinance applications was also higher, as borrowers with larger loan sizes are typically more sensitive to changes in rates.”
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NAR Existing-Home Sales Report Shows 5.1% Increase in December
January 14 2026 | |
"2025 was another tough year for homebuyers, marked by record-high home prices and historically low home sales,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "However, in the fourth quarter, conditions began improving, with lower mortgage rates and slower home price growth. December home sales, after adjusting for seasonal factors, were the strongest in nearly three years. The gains were broad-based, with all four major regions improving from the prior month."
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December Jobs Report Commentary from MBA's Mike Fratantoni
January 09 2026 | |
“The pace of employment growth slowed in December to 50,000, in line with the average pace of 49,000 for all of 2025. Employment growth was much slower than the roughly 168,000 pace in 2024. Employment numbers for October and November were revised downwards by 76,000, considerably weaker than initially reported."
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MISMO Publishes SMART Doc V3 Power of Attorney Specification
January 08 2026 | |
“The new SMART Doc V3 Power of Attorney Specification extends the benefits of verifiable, tamper-evident data to a critical loan document,” said Brian Vieaux, MISMO President. “By enabling document data to travel with the PDF and be automatically validated, this specification helps increase trust, reduce risk, and support more efficient, interoperable digital mortgage processes across the industry.”
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MBA Launches Mortgage Banking Bound at Louisiana State University
January 07 2026 | |
“Offering Mortgage Banking Bound at LSU represents another significant milestone for the program and will further strengthen the future talent pipeline for our industry,” said David Upbin, MBA Vice President, Education and Strategy. “We are especially grateful to Tony Turner, CMB, for making the initial connection at LSU and helping move this program forward, as well as to Louisiana MBA President Ashley Logan, who worked closely with us to secure a high-caliber roster of instructors representing the industry from across the Southeast. This collaboration ensures students receive both strong academic grounding and real-world insight into today’s mortgage banking industry.”
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Mortgage Applications Decreased Over a Two-Week Period in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
January 07 2026 | |
“Mortgage rates started the New Year with a decline to 6.25 percent, the lowest level since September 2024. Refinance applications were up 7 percent for the week but were at a slower pace than in the weeks leading up to the holidays,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “FHA refinance applications saw a 19 percent increase, although that was a partial rebound from a drop the week before. MBA continues to expect mortgage rates to stay around current levels, with spells of refinance opportunities in the weeks when rates move lower.”
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Kriss Law/Atlantic Closing & Escrow Finalizes Merger With Pino Law Offices
January 06 2026 | |
"This is the latest example of our commitment to sustainably expanding our resources and capabilities throughout northern New England and Massachusetts without sacrificing our emphasis on client service," said KL/ACE President and CEO Scott D. Kriss, Esq. "Pino Law Offices has built a strong reputation for delivering exceptional closing services with a focus on customer convenience and fast turnaround times, demonstrating an alignment between their core values and ours. This partnership only further strengthens what we bring to the table for clients in the Greater Boston area and throughout New England."
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