SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF), a leading global provider of title insurance, settlement services and risk solutions for real estate transactions, today released First American’s proprietary Real Estate Sentiment Index (RESI) for the fourth quarter of 2018. The RESI is based on a bi-annual survey of independent title agents and other real estate professionals, providing a unique gauge on the real estate market using the crowd-sourced wisdom and expertise of real estate experts.

Chief Economist Analysis: Real Estate Professionals Embracing Fintech to Enhance Home-Buying Experience

“Throughout 2018, we’ve seen many trends that set the groundwork for the acceleration of financial technology (fintech) adoption,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American. “It has been a strong seller’s market across the top U.S. metropolitan areas. With inventory low and house prices at historic highs, prospective homebuyers felt pressured to settle deals quickly before opportunities fade away. Additionally, the largest group of prospective homebuyers, millennials, expect greater efficiency and convenience in their home-buying experience,” said Fleming.

“Given these factors, as part of our bi-annual Real Estate Sentiment Index (RESI), we surveyed title insurance agents and real estate professionals across the nation for their perspective on how fintech can improve the home-buying process. Three key innovations stood out: secure collaboration and communication portals, eClosing and remote online notarization, and chat bots,” said Fleming. “We anticipate that 2019 will bring increased adoption of these innovations.”

Is Fintech the Answer to Rising Fraud in Real Estate Transactions?

“According to 45 percent of the title agents and real estate professionals surveyed, the most important financial technology that helps potential homebuyers accelerate transactions is secure collaboration and communication portals,” said Fleming. “Survey respondents indicated that buyers would greatly benefit from a secure platform that allows them to correspond with lenders, real estate agents, escrow officers, and other parties involved with the real estate transaction. The emphasis on security does not come as a surprise, given that one of the major trends affecting the real estate industry, real estate professionals and consumers is the rise in wire fraud.”

eClosing and Remote Online Notarization Poised to Transform Home-Buying Experience

“eClosing and remote online notarization capabilities are also poised to make their mark in the industry. 34 percent of title agents and real estate professionals surveyed believe that remote online notarization and eClosings will have a large impact in helping home buyers close their transactions faster and more efficiently,” said Fleming.

“Remote online notarization allows a notary to notarize documents remotely over the internet via tamper-evident digital tools, sophisticated fraud prevention technologies and live audio-video conferencing. This technology has already been accepted as an alternative to traditional in-person notarization in several states, and we anticipate seeing further uptick in 2019,” said Fleming.

“Similarly, eClosing, the electronic execution of mortgage loan closing documents in a secure digital environment, is a faster and more efficient alternative to the traditional paper-based real estate closing,” said Fleming. “eClosing can also reduce the risk of manual errors in the closing process, improving loan quality alongside efficiency.”

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