M&A activity snapshot
Title and escrow is a large market with a concentrated top and a fragmented base. The title insurance industry generated $18.5 billion in premiums during 2025, a 13.8% increase over 2024. ALTA represents more than 17,000 title insurance companies, with over 90% of them small businesses. It is one of the more transaction-driven verticals inside Real Estate & Property Services M&A.
Underwriting is far more concentrated than the agency layer. Per Demotech data cited by FNF, the top four title insurance groups wrote 80% of net premiums in 2024, and about 40 independent underwriters wrote the remaining 20%. First American Title Insurance Co. led individual underwriters in 2025 with a 23.1% share, ahead of Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. at 14.5%.
The industry entered this M&A cycle profitable. Industry net income reached $1.168 billion in 2025, the 5th highest year in its history. Recent deals span every layer of the stack, from underwriter take-privates to single-office agency tuck-ins.
Title Resources Group agreed in March 2024 to acquire Doma for $6.29 per share in cash, a premium of about 43.0%. The merger closed in September 2024, with Centerbridge Partners named as the largest shareholder in TRG. Opendoor then agreed in April 2026 to acquire Doma's closing and escrow operations, with the unit's 85 staff joining Opendoor.
Stewart Title acquired Townsend Title Insurance Agency in southwest Florida in January 2026, reportedly retaining its existing branch locations and staff. In August 2026, Stewart announced the acquisition of a title agent based in Frederick, Md., serving Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The same month, Radian agreed to sell its title business to PLACE, a real estate technology and services platform; Radian Title generated $17 million in 2025 premiums.
Who is buying
Underwriters are the most consistent acquirers of agencies. First American's growth strategy includes acquiring companies that expand its market share, enhance its data capabilities or add technology. Fidelity National Financial bought North Carolina-based Metro Title in 2024, and Stewart's Florida and Maryland purchases follow the same tuck-in pattern.
Underwriter agent networks define the target pool. FNF wrote 55.8% of its 2025 title premiums through agents and transacted business with approximately 5,100 agents at year-end. At Old Republic, independent title agents produced 78.1% of 2025 title premium and fee income, about $2.2 billion.
Private equity is a newer and growing presence. Centerbridge's position behind TRG is the clearest named example. One executive told HousingWire that private equity money is coming into the business "like it has never really come in before."
Vertical integrators are the third group. Homebuilder Dream Finders Homes acquired underwriter Alliant National in 2024, and Compass's deal for @properties also included Chicago-based Proper Title. Title production software provider Qualia agreed in January 2025 to acquire RamQuest and E-Closing from Old Republic.
Broker- and builder-owned title arms usually run as affiliated business arrangements. Under Regulation X, such an arrangement avoids violating section 8 of RESPA only if its conditions are met, including a written disclosure of the ownership relationship at the time of referral. Buyers acquiring an agency with affiliated referral sources review those disclosures closely.
What buyers look for
Agency economics start with the premium split. Stewart's independent agencies retained an average of 83.0% of the revenues they generated in 2025, leaving roughly 17% for the underwriter by Axia arithmetic. Escrow, closing and settlement fees sit on top of that split.
File mix drives revenue per order. Stewart's average domestic commercial fee per file was $19,300 in 2025, against $3,200 for a residential file. Stewart also notes that title premium rates for refinance orders are lower on average than for a similarly priced purchase.
Order conversion is a core KPI. Stewart's direct operations opened 329,519 orders and closed 230,135 in 2025, and Stewart lists the ratio of closed to opened orders among its revenue drivers. Buyers also want consistency: one advisor said a seller needs a clear, consistent trend over six to eight quarters to justify a higher valuation.
Escrow controls are the largest diligence risk. Stewart says large losses from agency defalcations typically occur when an agency misappropriates funds from escrow accounts under its control. Its audits examine escrow account bank reconciliations and a sample of closed transactions, and test whether agencies follow internal controls defined by ALTA's best practices.
State rate regulation shapes the revenue model. Texas regulates title rates, so all title companies charge the same premium for a policy. The Texas Commissioner ordered a 6.2% reduction in basic premium rates, effective March 1, 2026. Texas was the largest premium state at $2.7 billion in 2025, so that cut flows directly into agency revenue per file there.
What makes a strong company
A title or escrow agency that draws competitive buyer interest typically shows:
- A file mix weighted toward purchase and commercial orders, not a book that depends on refinance waves.
- Monthly escrow reconciliations, documented wire-fraud procedures and controls aligned with ALTA best practices, with no defalcation history.
- Steady opened and closed order trends across several years, with closing ratios tracked and reported.
- Referral relationships spread across many agents, lenders and attorneys, with affiliated business disclosures on file where they apply.
- Current title agent and escrow licenses in every state served, and a team that closes files without the owner present.
Valuation and deal structure
No public source discloses EBITDA multiples for title agency transactions, and none of the named deals above reported one. The closest public data points are prices, not multiples. Doma's take-private priced at $6.29 per share, about a 43.0% premium to its prior close, and that is a public-company premium proxy, not an agency valuation.
Opendoor's second-quarter 2026 10-Q reports that on July 20, 2026 it completed the acquisition of a closing and escrow operations business for total consideration of $10 million. The filing does not name Doma; linking that price to the Doma unit is an inference from timing and description. Treat it as a size proxy for an escrow operation, not a multiple.
Advisors describe the pricing method rather than a range. One banker said his firm evaluates title companies on an earnings multiple, the time frame it applies to, and deal terms such as cash down payments versus earnouts. The time frame can be trailing results, a three-year blend or projections, which matters in a cyclical business.
Earnouts are a standard tool among acquirers. FNF paid $27 million of contingent consideration for prior-period acquisitions in 2025, a company-wide figure not limited to title. The same HousingWire piece called it a seller's market with few good companies available, while warning that peak valuations are unlikely to return soon.
Outlook
The premium cycle has turned up. After seven consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines, premiums written rose in every quarter of 2025, including 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Order data for 2026 is mixed, with commercial and refinance carrying volume.
FNF's direct title operations opened 391 thousand orders in the second quarter of 2026, up from 366 thousand a year earlier. First American's residential purchase opened orders per day fell 2.4% in that quarter, while commercial and refinance rose 6.5% and 6.4%. Stewart's commercial opened orders rose 33% while purchase orders fell 3%.
Purchase volume, which drives owner's policy premiums, stays soft. MBA's September forecast calls for $2.123 trillion of 2026 originations, including $1.423 trillion of purchase, and $2.101 trillion in 2027. Existing-home sales ran at a 3.98 million annual rate in August 2026, down 1.2% year over year.
Policy risk looks contained for now. Fannie Mae's title pilot covers certain refinance loans under 80% loan-to-value, and KBW analysts said refinances account for under 10% of title insurer revenues. Radian expects its title sale to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Over the next 12-24 months, expect continued underwriter tuck-ins of agencies with clean escrow records, more non-core divestitures and further vertical integration.
Own a title or escrow agency and want a market-based starting point before you talk to buyers? Run the valuation tool or go back to Real Estate & Property Services M&A. See also: how buyers build an M&A target list.