Sylvia Smith-Turk, division president of Stewart Title in Northern Nevada, left, and Chad Felix, division VP of Stewart Title in Northern Nevada.
Courtesy Photos
Throughout the pandemic, many industries have seen an increase in mergers and acquisitions as major players compete to increase market share.
That’s been the case in the title insurance sector, which wrote $19.2 billion in premiums in 2020, a 22% increase from 2019, according to the American Land Title Association, amid the red-hot housing market.
As a result of surging housing demand, the industry has been in major growth mode in 2021, and Northern Nevada is no different.
This past September, Houston-based Stewart Title Company acquired Western Title Company, the sixth-oldest company in Nevada, as part of a purchase of 57 title offices across Arizona, Colorado and Nevada from Parker, Colorado-based investment firm ET Investments.
In all, the transaction price was $105 million, according to a Stewart Title press release and various media reports from last summer.
In a recent phone interview with the NNBW, Sylvia Smith-Turk, division president of Stewart Title in Northern Nevada, said the merger brought Western Title Company, which was founded in 1902, “a lot more resources to the table” amid an “incredibly busy time.”
“2020 was probably one of our biggest years as far as business volume,” Smith-Turk said. “Our openings and closings were up roughly 30%.”
To keep up with that demand, Smith said Stewart Title has added about 25 employees to its Northern Nevada offices since the merger.
Meanwhile, to improve on efficiencies, the title giant in June announced the combination of its two Northern Nevada divisions — Western Division and Legacy Division — into one unified team.
Western was formerly Western Title and Legacy was previously Capital Title.
“I think Stewart saw that it just made sense to bring us together under that one leadership team,” Smith-Turk said. “I think it’s less confusion, too, for the customers and the real estate agents to realize that we’re now one company.”
Together, Stewart Title’s combined divisions have more than 120 employees across nine Northern Nevada offices — four in Reno, and one each in Carson City, Winnemucca, Fernley, Gardnerville and Yerington.
Statewide, the company offers services to prospective and current property owners in Reno, Carson City, Gardnerville/Minden, Fernley, Yerington, Winnemucca, Elko, Ely, Las Vegas and Mesquite.
“For us and for the consumer and real estate agents that we work with, it gave us a lot more tools to offer to make the closings smoother,” Smith-Turk said of the merger and subsequent joining of its Northern Nevada divisions. “It brought a lot of great people together. It really made us stronger. Together, we’ll have probably one of the most tenured title department to help with difficult searches, and make sure that when we issued that type of policy, we’re doing what our main focus is: and that’s to protect property rights for people.”
In terms of market share, Stewart’s team of national insurance underwriters captured 9.6% of the market in 2020, ranking No. 4 in the country, according to ALTA.
Chad Felix, division VP of Stewart Title in Northern Nevada, said being under the Stewart umbrella “helps immensely,” especially involving larger transactions or out-of-state buyers moving to the region.
“They normally didn’t know Western Title because we were local,” Felix said. “But now with the Stewart name, people coming from elsewhere, nationally, are going to have a name that they recognize.”
