First American Title

Cheers to 10 years! We’re thrilled to announce that for the 10th year in a row, Fortune has recognized First American as one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For®. We know that our employee’s talents and expertise are the backbone behind our growth, innovation, and impact. This award reflects the hard work and passion of our team members. Their creativity, collaboration, and commitment to solving problems is the driving force behind our growth and, ultimately, our customer’s success. Please join us in celebrating each of our employees, and this outstanding achievement. #BestWorkplaces #GPTWcertified https://firstam.us/42aqfZz

Recession fears are rising. We know. We feel it, too. But what does that mean for the housing market? Here are the fast facts. • Recessions don’t always mean falling home sales. In fact, history shows us that the housing market has remained resilient in many past downturns. • Lower mortgage rates can offset economic uncertainty. The Federal Reserve often cuts rates in a recession, making homes more affordable. • Every recession is different. Unlike the Great Recession (2007-2009), most downturns haven’t been driven by housing, so their effects on real estate vary. We’ve got you covered on market updates and economic insights that will help you breathe easy and move forward with confidence.

The real estate industry is leveraging tools and technologies powered by AI to enhance and evolve customer experiences. At the same time, scammers are also using AI to commit sophisticated fraud, fabricating realistic documents, videos, and voices, making it easier for scammers to deceive. This poses a significant threat to everyone in the industry: from home buyers to sellers, and real estate professionals. The good news is, there are things everyone can do to help stay safe: • Use trusted and secure platforms to conduct transactions and be wary of emails from unknown sources. • Verify the identities through multiple sources and, if you can, meet in person to confirm details. • Detect deepfakes by looking for inconsistencies in blinking patterns, lip movements, reflections, shadows, skin texture, and hair. • Always protect yourself by verifying identities, using trusted platforms, and staying informed about the latest fraud schemes. It’s important to stay vigilant! For more information and tactics on how to detect AI fraud, join our upcoming webinar on April 16. Register today: https://firstam.us/3FrMWAS

Spring has officially sprung and so has the spring home-buying season! Despite high national home prices and elevated mortgage rates, there are signs of resilient demand and rising inventory in some areas, potentially easing price pressures. Overall, mortgage rate stability is crucial for housing recovery, but consensus forecasts are not expecting rates to come down much. The housing market's resilience may in part be due to higher inventory levels, with both active and new inventory up 17% and 4% respectively from a year ago. Inventory is expected to continue trending higher into the spring, potentially giving buyers more choices and negotiating power. Are you looking to enter the housing market this spring? If so, we’ll cut to the chase: • Tips for buyers: Get pre-approved, know your numbers, and avoid overextending yourself. • Tips for sellers: Price realistically to avoid homes sitting on the market too long. Be sure to follow First American for more economic insights.

Renovations can be full of unpleasant surprises! Tim found out the hard way when his den carpet was sitting on plywood and dirt. City inspections revealed unpermitted additions and required him to spend more money for a complete rebuild to meet regulations. Curious how Tim turned this setback into a triumph? Check out his story: https://firstam.us/4dureb9

Why settle for ordinary when you can be part of something extraordinary? At First American, our culture sets us apart. We're proud recipients of multiple awards for workplace excellence, and it's no surprise why. With industry-leading leadership and development programs, we invest in our employees' success every step of the way. https://firstam.us/40toTbI

As we commemorate Women’s History Month, we want to celebrate the progress that single women have made in pursuit of the dream of homeownership. We break down the key highlights for you: • In 2024 single women increased their homeownership rate to ~52% while the overall homeownership rate declined. • Over 20 million single women owned homes in 2024, surpassing single men both in number (14 million homes owned) and in homeownership rate (49.6%). • Women have made financial sacrifices to achieve this goal such as cutting spending on non-essential goods, canceling vacations, and even taking second jobs. • These efforts underscore the importance of homeownership for single women, who recognize the long-term benefits of wealth accumulation through house price appreciation and equity gains from monthly mortgage payments. • Women have increasingly pursued higher education, which is linked to larger incomes, and larger incomes improve the likelihood of homeownership. These fundamentals, which have fueled the surge in homeownership among women, show no signs of slowing. Let’s hear it for these hardworking ladies- show some love below! Like, comment, and be sure to follow along.

What’s that we smell? Spring is in the air. The spring season is a perennial signal for the housing market, with significant bloom of home sales expected between March and June. Heading into this season, the market faces headwinds from high mortgage rates, but tailwinds from rising inventory. Regardless of the mixed messages from these measures, the market has shown resilience. Rising inventories in certain areas could ease price pressures and offer more options to both sellers and buyers. However, while more inventory is welcome news for a supply-starved market, mortgage rates are expected to remain elevated as the Federal Reserve holds its current stance. Combined with historically high house prices, this means affordability remains challenging for potential buyers- and will play a huge role in the springtime market overall. Be sure to follow as we share the activity, trends, and latest updates throughout the spring season.

We’re thrilled to announce that our Chief Marketing Officer Chelsea Sumrow is a 2025 Inman Marketing All-Star! This marks the second year in a row that Chelsea has won this award, which recognizes passionate individuals who are driving positive change in the real estate industry through innovative marketing. Please join us in celebrating this well-deserved recognition! #InmanMarketingAllStar #InmanAwards #MarketingAward

A one-time payment for long-term protection? Sounds like a real value. Unlike other types of insurance, you only pay for a title insurance policy once and it will cover you for as long as you own the home (and sometimes even longer)!