Coldwell Banker, First American Title to partner
October 4, 2004
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has filed an application to form a title and escrow company in partnership with First American Title Insurance Co.
The move followed research into the growing trend of one-stop shopping in mainland real estate markets, Managing Director Scott Bradley said.
"We are always looking for ways to improve the home buying process," Bradley said Thursday. "Adding a title and escrow company allows us to offer home buyers and sellers a one-stop shopping experience."
Of the nation's top 500 brokerage firms, 270 have diversified into the mortgage business and 182 are in the title business, a proxy for escrow services, according to the May 2004 Real Trends 500 report.
"Affiliated business has become a growing trend throughout the country because of consumer demand for more service efficiencies," said First American Senior Vice President Alan Greber.
In an October 2003 survey of homeowners by Weston Edwards and Anne Murray-Randolf, 70 percent of 3000 recent home buyers said they "would use" or were "highly likely" to use one-stop shopping or packaged services. Only 9 percent said they were "not very likely" or "not likely at all" to use them.
Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties said it had done its own research and gotten similar results from Hawaii home buyers, who seemed more interested in one-stop shopping than in extensive advertising, a Web site to view listings, or having offices in their neighborhood or nationwide.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or [email protected].