Panel Tackles The Current State And Possible Future Of Title, Lending And Real Estate

Williston Financial Group (WFG), the Portland-based parent company of WFG National Title Insurance Company, a full-service provider of title insurance and real estate settlement services for commercial and residential transactions nationwide, continues its quarterly webinar series, “Economic Outlook & Title Insurance in a Turbulent Era,” featuring WFG Executive Chairman and Founder Patrick F. Stone and Economist Dr. Bill Conerly, on Wednesday, January 21, 2021 at 10 am EST / 7 am PST.

During the live webinar, Stone and Conerly will answer submitted questions about the current state and possible future of title, lending and real estate. Webinar attendance is free, but seat reservations are required and can be made by clicking this link. Industry stakeholders nationwide are encouraged to submit their questions for consideration no later than Monday, January 19, by email here.

“This has become a popular and I believe valuable national forum,” said Stone. “Bill and I bring many years of experience both as business leaders and analysts in various aspects of the housing industry and U.S. economy. We have had a positive response from industry, media and government representatives for our efforts to offer balanced perspectives on the challenges facing us.”

Stone’s lengthy career in real estate and related services includes C-level positions with three public companies and serving as a director on two Fortune 500 boards. His senior executive management positions include nine years as president and COO of the nation’s largest title insurance company, chairman and co-CEO of a software company and CEO of a real estate data and information company. Pat also served as vice-chairman of Metrocities Mortgage, a 2005 top-20 mortgage lender, and as chairman of The Stone Group, an Austin, Texas-based tenant-represented brokerage company. In 2013, Inman News named him one of the year’s “100 Most Influential People in Real Estate.” Stone received HousingWire’s coveted Vanguard Award for lifetime career achievement in 2019, was recognized in 2019 and 2020 as a Lending Luminary by Progress in Lending and was the recipient of October Research’s annual Leadership Award in 2020.

Conerly has a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University and more than 30 years’ experience helping companies adapt to changing economic conditions. He was formerly Senior Vice President at a major bank and held positions in economics and corporate planning at two Fortune 500 corporations. He is also an online contributor to Forbes, chairman of the board of Cascade Policy Institute, and the author of The Flexible Stance: Thriving in a Boom/Bust Economy (2016) and Businomics (2007), a book about economics for business leaders.

In the previous webinar, on October 21, 2020, the two industry veterans answered questions about the pandemic’s ongoing impact on housing, what effect changes in mortgage rates will bring, and how the outcome of a national election, just weeks away, might alter the market. With the January 21 webinar coming on the first full day of a new administration in Washington, questions are sure to cover key issues in 2021, such as the moratorium, first-time buyer programs, and the scarcity of entry-level-priced homes.

As Stone said in October, “Owning a home right now has become of paramount importance to a lot of people, but the income inequality issue is being exacerbated by this pandemic.”

View the entire October 21 webinar by clicking here.

The webinar is organized and hosted by WFG Agency Events to provide a forum for the free and open exchange of information regarding best practices for a stronger, service-oriented and successful title, mortgage and real estate sector.

Join us, January 21, 2021 at 10 am EST/9am CST/8am MST and 7am PST for Quarterly Economic Outlook, and get your important questions answered.

Seat reservations: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LpycIYWaSImC0vSTVF3mJA

Submit questions via email: [email protected]