First American Financial Corporation - FAF STOCK NEWS

First American Financial (NYSE: FAF), a leading provider of title, settlement, and risk solutions for real estate transactions, has announced a 2% increase in its quarterly cash dividend. The board of directors has declared a new dividend of 54 cents per common share, up from the previous 53 cents. This increase reflects the company's confidence in its business outlook and commitment to shareholder returns. The dividend will be payable on September 27, 2024, to shareholders of record as of September 20, 2024. CEO Ken DeGiorgio emphasized the company's ongoing dedication to returning capital to shareholders through this dividend hike.

First American Financial (NYSE: FAF) has appointed Deborah L. Wahl to its board of directors. Wahl, an innovative global chief marketing officer (CMO), brings a wealth of experience in developing transformational corporate strategies. Her impressive career includes serving as CMO for major brands like General Motors, Cadillac, McDonald's, and PulteGroup. Recognized as a leader among CMOs, Wahl has been inducted into the Forbes CMO Hall of Fame and the CMO Club Hall of Fame.

Dennis J. Gilmore, chairman of First American Financial , expressed excitement about Wahl's addition to the board, highlighting her extensive experience in global marketing strategy and driving growth for influential brands. Wahl's expertise is expected to be valuable as the company leads the digital transformation of the title and settlement industry.

First American Financial (NYSE: FAF) has been named to Fast Company's 2024 Best Workplaces for Innovators list for the second consecutive year. This recognition highlights the company's commitment to fostering innovation at all levels. First American remains the only title and settlement services provider to achieve this honor.

The company's focus on innovation is evident through its investments in digital tools and platforms such as Endpoint®, Jot™, FirstAm IgniteRE™, and ClarityFirst®. These solutions aim to enhance efficiency and streamline real estate transactions. First American's revolutionary map-based underwriting tool, Galileo™, is transforming title underwriting in the industry.

With an industry-leading patent portfolio of over 30 patents, First American is pioneering the use of AI and machine learning in property data extraction. This technology contributes to building the industry's largest property and ownership dataset, fueling automated title production.

Sally French Tyler, co-president of First American Title Insurance Company, has been named a winner of HousingWire's 2024 Vanguard Award. This prestigious recognition honors C-level industry leaders in housing and mortgage finance for their vital contributions and dynamic influence. Tyler's leadership has delivered exceptional business results, driven key innovations, and advanced women in the industry.

Under Tyler's guidance, First American's National Commercial Services division doubled operating revenue from 2006 to 2021. She spearheaded the VisionQuest program, fostering innovation and leading to the development of ClarityFirst®, a digital solution for commercial real estate transactions. Tyler also co-founded the company's Women in Leadership initiative, which has seen over 100 graduates with a 45% promotion rate.

First American Data & Analytics released its July 2024 Home Price Index (HPI) report, revealing that New York-Jersey City-White Plains home prices increased by 0.9% year-over-year. The national HPI showed a 5.3% year-over-year increase, marking the seventh consecutive month of slowing annualized house price appreciation.

Chief Economist Mark Fleming noted that elevated mortgage rates have driven affordability to near-record lows, freezing home buying and selling. However, potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this fall may spur market activity.

The report also highlighted significant variations in local markets. While some areas like Anaheim, Calif. (+9.9%) and Pittsburgh (+6.9%) saw strong price growth, others like Austin, Texas (-1.0%) and Oakland, Calif. (-0.9%) experienced price declines.

First American Data & Analytics released its July 2024 Home Price Index (HPI) report, revealing that Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land home prices increased by 3.3% year-over-year. The national HPI showed a 5.3% year-over-year increase, marking the seventh consecutive month of slowing annualized house price appreciation.

Chief Economist Mark Fleming noted that elevated mortgage rates have driven affordability to near-record lows, contributing to a cooling but still positive pace of appreciation. The report segments home price changes into three tiers: starter, mid-tier, and luxury. In the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metro area, the luxury tier saw the highest increase at 4.5%, followed by the starter tier at 3.8%, and the mid-tier at 2.4%.

Among other markets, Pittsburgh showed the highest increase in the starter tier HPI at 13.5%, while Anaheim, Calif. led overall with a 9.9% increase. Conversely, Austin, Texas experienced a 1% decrease in HPI.

First American Data & Analytics released its July 2024 Home Price Index (HPI) report, revealing that home prices in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale increased by 3.2% year-over-year. The national HPI showed a 5.3% year-over-year increase, marking the seventh consecutive month of slowing annualized house price appreciation.

Chief Economist Mark Fleming noted that elevated mortgage rates have driven affordability to near-record lows, contributing to a cooling but still positive pace of appreciation. The report also highlighted significant variations across different markets, with some areas experiencing strong growth while others saw price declines.

The HPI report segments home prices into starter, mid-tier, and luxury tiers. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metro area, the starter tier increased by 2.8%, mid-tier by 4.0%, and luxury tier by 3.5% year-over-year.

First American Data & Analytics released its July 2024 Home Price Index (HPI) report, revealing a continued slowdown in national house price growth for the seventh consecutive month. Key highlights include:

- National house prices are 55.0% higher compared to pre-pandemic levels (February 2020).
- The year-over-year change in HPI is +5.3%.
- The month-over-month change from June to July 2024 is +0.3%.

Chief Economist Mark Fleming attributes this cooling trend to elevated mortgage rates and low affordability. However, he notes that potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts this fall may spur market activity. The report also highlights significant variations in local markets, with some areas experiencing strong growth (e.g., Anaheim, Calif., and Pittsburgh) while others see price declines (e.g., Austin, Texas, and Tampa, Fla.).

First American Data & Analytics released its July 2024 Home Price Index (HPI) report, revealing that Dallas-Plano-Irving home prices increased by 2.0% year-over-year. The national HPI showed a 5.3% year-over-year increase, marking the seventh consecutive month of slowing annualized house price appreciation.

Chief Economist Mark Fleming noted that elevated mortgage rates have driven affordability to near-record lows, contributing to a cooling but still positive pace of appreciation. In the Dallas-Plano-Irving metro area, the luxury tier saw the highest price growth at 4.3%, while starter and mid-tier homes both increased by 1.4%.

The report also highlighted significant price increases in markets like Pittsburgh (+13.5% in starter homes) and Anaheim, Calif. (+9.9% overall). Conversely, some markets experienced price declines, including Austin, Texas (-1.0%) and Tampa, Fla. (-0.7%).