In March we announced that Opendoor was acquiring the closing and escrow operations of Doma, subject to regulatory approval. Today that transaction is officially complete.
We don't usually write about acquisitions twice. But a lot has happened in the past few months, and it reinforces why we made this investment in the first place. The closing process remains one of the most expensive, manual, and frustrating parts of homeownership.
The problem we are solving has not changed
In the overwhelming majority of refinance transactions, the title search confirms what everyone already expected: there are typically no title or ownership issues. The homeowner still pays for the search and then pays again for lender's title insurance.
Fannie Mae's Title Acceptance Program says that certain refinance transactions determined to have low title risk may be sold to Fannie Mae without the requirement of a lender's title insurance policy helping to reduce closing costs for borrowers. For eligible borrowers, that means no lender's insurance policy, putting hundreds of dollars back in their pocket, and a faster closing.
Doma built the automated technology that makes those decisions possible, and Opendoor brings the operational scale to close those transactions efficiently across the country.
That was our thesis in March. Now, months later, the market is moving in the same direction.
What has happened since March
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte has publicly committed to extending the Title Acceptance pilot through November 2027, signaling continued confidence in the program's direction. The program continues to broaden, with additional technology providers and lenders participating. Most of, if not all of, the top 20 lenders in the US are participating or looking to participate in this program. Director Pulte has also said Freddie Mac is focused on reducing costs across the closing chain. Taken together, these developments point to broader momentum behind reducing unnecessary closing costs.
The direction is clear. Federal housing policy and private innovation are moving the same way. The challenge now is to build the infrastructure that brings this to scale, with the care and rigor it demands.
We are committed to being that partner in progress.
Why Opendoor and Doma
Doma spent years building the models, data, and systems proving that instant title decisioning works. We could have spent years building that capability ourselves. Instead, we chose to combine Doma's decisioning technology with Opendoor's national closing platform.
Great technology only matters if it can scale, in this case to millions of homeowners. That's where Opendoor is uniquely positioned. For more than a decade, we've built the systems, operational expertise, and nationwide footprint to close complex real estate transactions efficiently. Since 2013, we've closed or insured more than 700,000 properties and issued more than $100 billion in title insurance. The team joining us from Doma brings deep lender relationships and experience running high-volume programs for some of the country's largest institutions. Many of these teams were already working together. This acquisition simply made that partnership permanent.
Doma's automated decisioning engine determines whether the property is eligible. Opendoor closes the transaction. The homeowner keeps more money. That's another step toward tilting the world in favor of homeowners.
A better standard for our customers
New approaches deserve scrutiny, and we welcome that scrutiny because confidence in the system matters. We take the concerns raised seriously. Our response is to execute every transaction correctly and responsibly. The program's credibility depends on that, and so does ours.
We are confident in the underlying premise of the Title Acceptance Program. Millions of Americans refinancing their homes should not pay for a process that adds no value to their transaction, especially during an affordability crisis. Federal estimates put the per-transaction savings at $300 to $1,500. At the volume this program is heading toward, that is real money going back to real families that need it. That is exactly the kind of friction this industry should be removing.
What comes next
Today, we welcome the Doma team to Opendoor. Our work to scale this infrastructure begins now.
We said in March that this acquisition positions Opendoor as the place where America closes. Every transaction type. Every market. Every borrower who deserves better than what this industry has always given them. America, come checkout on your next home purchase or refinance closing with Opendoor.
