As we near the end of the year, we wanted not only to review the highlights from 2022’s State of the Title Industry Report but also reflect on the previous four years that we collected similar data from respondents all over the country.
2021 Report Highlights
After we finally adapted to the challenges of the pandemic, we hopped on for another wild ride as the real estate market boomed in 2021. Recording breaking closings, insane home prices, and an industry that could barely keep up were some of the experiences we had. While this busy period challenged us, it also showed us areas where we could improve to be more resilient to shifts in the market.
We also saw an increase in the number of respondents who were 65 years or older as compared to our 2020 survey, but the silver lining was an increase in the youngest respondents increasing slightly as well. Another dramatic change was the number of respondents personally handling between 21-30 closings a month – up 10% from the previous year. The year allowed for less time to focus on growing the business as we raced to keep up with ever-increasing demand.
Want to compare this year with last? Click here.
2020 Report Highlights
It goes without saying that after COVID-19 hit the country, 2020 brought unprecedented challenges that the industry had never experienced. The real estate market nearly halted, and for quite some time, uncertainty abounded. However, in time, the industry began to adapt to the new normal and lean heavily on the available technology. It was also the fifth biggest challenge in the industry for the first time since we began conducting the survey.
A major focus was the various closing software and Remote Online Notarization (RON) platforms available to title professionals. Moreover, it required title agents to analyze their relationships with customers and real estate agents in a hybrid or remote environment. We opened the survey to real estate agents for the first time to offer their insight into the state of the industry as well.
Interested in more report highlights from 2020? Click here.
2019 Report Highlights
A major concern in 2019 was the aging pool of title professionals and what the future of the industry would look like. Roughly 51% of our respondents fell into the age range of 45-64 years old, so it was no surprise that professionals were concerned. What was dubbed as the “Silver Tsunami,” or the mass amounts of people retiring and leaving companies high and dry, didn’t really impact companies as much as we had thought, but it did bring awareness to the matter.
Shifting our focus to younger, more diverse generations became a priority for the future. Diversity was increasing among homebuyers, so the workforce needed to match that diversity. Plus, it would allow the industry to alleviate the problem of many people nearing retirement. Training and experience as two of the biggest factors for new entrants to the industry to be able to succeed.
Another new finding in the 2019 report was the entrance of cybersecurity and wire fraud as a threat to homeowners. This was the first time we saw this as one of the top five challenges for title company owners in our report, and opened our eyes to the need to train employees on the subject continuously.
Want to read the full report? Click here.
2018 Report Highlights
In 2018, we launched the State of the Title Industry report in hopes of learning more about professionals across the nation. Through the survey, we wanted to give title agents a voice.
We found out a few interesting things in our first year: women dominated the industry, title professionals struggled to deal with estoppels, and there was an increase in the “gap” period for municipalities.
Women made up 69% of our respondents, which showed us how much of a majority they really had in the title space. Through those responses from women, and men, we also realized that association research and the process of obtaining estoppel was a big challenge for many. But the most eye-opening aspect of the report was that only 63% of title companies performed a municipal lien search for every closing. This left too much room for unrecorded debt to affect homeowners.
Curious to see the details from this year? Click here.
Biggest Challenges of 2018
- Not enough time/rushing through tasks
- Findings ways to generate new business
- Juggling too many different responsibilities
- Trying to reach all parties involved to get the information needed to close
As we march forward through the end of this year and into 2023, we hope that the industry can find ways to weather the shifts in the market by hearing from other professionals. 2022 hasn’t been easy, but neither were the years before, in their own unique ways. One thing we have learned is that the title industry is passionate about protecting homeowners and willing to adapt to the modern real estate market in order to keep doing so.
