– As the title industry continues to pivot to purchase, Ben Bellomo shares his on-site industry trends and takeaways from this year’s National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) –

Now that I’ve had some time to decompress, I’d like to share some observations and takeaways from the recent National Settlement Services Summit (NS3) in Orlando.

Let’s start with the overall vibe. It was upbeat and felt like things were returning to normal. The attendance seemed up compared to last fall’s re-scheduled event. There were a lot more meeting rooms and a lot more meetings. The conference, in my opinion, was markedly busier and there were higher levels of engagement and enthusiasm.

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– Intelligent automation allows an organization to augment the workforce to handle spikes in demand or troughs in capacity –

If you’ve followed my recent blog posts, you know that I’m a strong advocate of automation and a true believer that this inevitable trend will create not only a superior customer experience but also improve job satisfaction for employees. Since automation can sometimes be associated with job losses, I realize that this last statement may sound counter-intuitive. Recently, however, I came across a study that supports these views, and had an opportunity to hear first-hand how automation is changing the nature of work at a large title company.

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– As the need for speed continues to play a pivotal role in mortgage origination, the need for smart technology and improved automation will separate the winners from the rest –

The mortgage market has always valued speed: the faster a lender can approve a borrower the more likely that loan will close. It’s why, in recent years, lenders have invested billions to improve their customer experience through innovations like digital point-of-sale solutions and faster verification platforms, and why they are continually pushing partners, like title companies and AMCs, to deliver faster results.

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– As the “big shift” in real estate lending continues with the purchase market taking center stage, new challenges arise for title companies and lenders to grow market share –

The “big shift” in real estate lending is on. As rising mortgage rates spur further declines in refinance transactions and historically low housing inventory limits existing-home sales, title companies and lenders face a challenging time to maintain and grow market share.

In this increasingly competitive environment, companies can leverage operational efficiency tools and market-specific intelligence to enhance customer service and increase the effectiveness of their marketing efforts, which can drive business that, in turn, helps protect margins.

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– In 2022, the dramatic shift from refinance to purchase and the overall market contraction requires new strategies as well as renewed focus on cost and efficiency –

With refinance transactions slowing, 2022 will mark a year of significant change for the title and mortgage industries. As Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American, recently observed:

“The Fed clearly faces a very unique challenge in 2022. How to tame inflation without halting the recovery, and the housing market is entering 2022 with double-digit house price growth, strong underlying demand and near record-low supply. A modest increase in mortgage rates due to tighter monetary policy may actually bring some much-needed house price moderation.”

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