Current News

The Latest News from WFG National Title Company
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mark zandimortgagerealtytracSelect
January 22, 2015

5 economists forecast the 2015 housing market

As we ring in a New Year, the “Housing News Report” asked five prominent economists to forecast what 2015 will bring for the U.S. housing market after a 2014 that was a bit of a reality check in the housing recovery following two strong bounce-back years in 2012 and 2013.…
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137
Brokeragereal estaterobert reffkinSelecturban compass
January 22, 2015

Robert Reffkin: ‘Hiring the right people is the best investment’

Robert Reffkin is the CEO of Urban Compass. Describe what you do in one sentence: I guide the strategy of Urban Compass by hiring talented and passionate people and empowering them to solve big problems. Age: 35 Degree, school: BA and MBA at Columbia University Location: New York City Social media: Twitter,…
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119
Marketingreal estateSelect
January 22, 2015

How to generate leads with a focused social-media campaign

If you’re like most real estate agents, chances are you have at least started to build a presence online. More and more agents understand the need to have a website or blog — it is your virtual storefront. More than half of homebuyers start their home search online. It’s clearly…
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102
IRESMLS & AssociationsSelect
January 22, 2015

MLS fights ‘bad bots’

Multiple listing service data is highly coveted in the real estate and mortgage industries. Like any other such asset, it is vulnerable to theft. In mid-2013, data security firm Distil Networks launched what it hoped would be an “industrywide intelligence network” to identify and thwart those who scrape real estate listing…
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136
lowe'sporchpro.comSelectTechnology
January 22, 2015

Home improvement matchmaker Porch raises $65M

Porch, a portal that connects homeowners with home improvement professionals, has raised more than $65 million in a series B funding round that it will use for a growth push. The Seattle-based firm says it will use some of the cash on a national rollout of “Porch Booking,” a service that…
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119
InvestingMarkets & Economyrick shargaSelect
January 22, 2015

Online auctions seem to attract more buy-and-hold investors

Investors who purchase homes in online auctions are more likely to hang onto them as rental properties than buyers purchasing homes at live auction events, according to a nationwide survey by Auction.com Most investors bidding at live events apparently intend to flip homes they purchase than rent them, with survey…
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137
Brokerageleading real estate companies of the worldleverage global partnerspartners trustSelect
January 21, 2015

How brokerage networks are stoking growth of independents

When Carolina One Real Estate’s nine-year franchise contract with Prudential Real Estate expired in 2008, the brokerage wanted to eliminate franchise fees and operate with more flexibility, but didn’t want to give up its national presence. So the Charleston, South Carolina-based firm turned to a global independent brokerage network, Leading…
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136
neighborhood infoSelectTechnologytruliayelp
January 21, 2015

Trulia, AddressReport spotlighting local amenities with Yelp integration

Trulia and AddressReport are taking Yelp up on its offer of a free application programming interface (API) that serves up data on restaurants, bars, grocery stores, boutiques, massage therapists and other businesses in Yelp’s database. Integration with Yelp provides house hunters using Trulia and AddressReport with neighborhood insights, allowing them to…
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102
mergers and acquisitionsSelectTechnology
January 21, 2015

More M&A in real estate tech

HomeActions, which helps real estate agents drum up new business by helping them email newsletters to prospects, says its client base will grow by more than 5,000 real estate professionals with the acquisition of Houston, Texas-based ContactDirect.net LLC. ContactDirect President Dan Davila will join HomeActions as a consultant to help…
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BrokerageluxuryScott MitchellSelectWEAWestside Estate Agency
January 21, 2015

TMZ and Architectural Digest flip out over Beverly Hills broker’s home

You know you must have done something right if TMZ and Architectural Digest are both gushing over the home that took you seven years to build. Architectural Digest calls real estate broker Kurt Rappaport’s Malibu home, situated on 6 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean, a “masterful composition of intersecting planes and…
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