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» VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 89 insurance and reinsurance operations, according to ACGL. "We are gratified that Arch U.S. MI will be led by experienced professionals in Andrew Rippert and David Gansberg and welcome our new colleagues from UGC," said Marc Gran- disson, President and COO of ACGL. "Over the past several months, teams at Arch and UGC have been working together to ensure a successful integration of our combined opera- tions and a seamless transition for our clients. Our combined mortgage group looks forward to further strengthening its leadership position in the development of innovative products and services to meet the ever-evolving needs of our clients and the housing finance system." TENNESSEE Nashville Named Hottest Market for 2017 Nashville, Tennessee will be the No. 1 hottest housing market this year, according to Zillow, which ranked markets based on their home value forecast, recent income growth, and unemployment rates. While known for its country music scene, Nashville has become a center for healthcare employment, helping boost the local economy and local employment. Nashville's unemploy- ment rate is 4 percent, according to Zillow. Nashville was also named one of the top 10 markets where investors can expect high returns by BiggerPockets, a real estate investor networking website. Home prices are expected to rise 4.3 percent this year in Nashville, outpacing the 3 percent growth expected nationally, according to Zil- low. "Zillow's 2017 list highlights that jobs and opportunities are increasingly growing in smaller markets away from the coasts," said Svenja Gudell, Chief Economist at Zillow. "Mid-size cities like Salt Lake City, Portland, and Nashville are desirable places to live, with good employment opportunities and steady economic growth." "e growth and demand for housing will drive up home prices in 2017, and these hot markets are experiencing changes as more people discover them," she added. Two other Southern markets made the list along with Nashville; Orlando, Florida at No. 4 and Knoxville, Tennessee at No. 7. Zillow calculated Nashville and Knoxville's recent income growth at 1.1 percent, tying the two cities for the highest income growth on the top 10 list. e remaining top 10 cities, however were close behind—all with 1.0 percent income growth. Knoxville's home values are expected to rise at just a slightly higher pace than Nashville's this year—4.4 percent. Knoxville's unemploy- ment rate stands at 4.7 percent. foreclosures—5,262 loans—falling into the legacy category. Nationwide, about 55 percent of loans in foreclosure were legacy loans—those originated between 2004 and 2008, according to ATTOM. "Foreclosures completed in the fourth quarter had been in the foreclosure process 803 days on average, a substantial jump from the third quarter and indicating that banks pushed through significant numbers of legacy foreclosures during the quarter," said Daren Blomquist, SVP at ATTOM Data Solutions. e national time to foreclose jumped 29 percent over the quarter and 27 percent over the year in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to ATTOM. Florida was one of eight states where fore- closures in the fourth quarter took more than 1,000 days. e average time to foreclose in Florida was 1,186 days, according to ATTOM. NORTH CAROLINA Arch Capital Expands MI Footprint with Acquisition Arch Capital Group Ltd. (ACGL) can move forward with its plans to expand its foot- print in the private mortgage insurance industry with the announcement of the completion of the acquisition of United Guaranty Corpora- tion (UGC) from American International Group Inc, (AIG). Based in Bermuda, ACGL reported approximately $8.24 billion in capital as of Sep- tember 30, 2016. e acquisition allows Arch to further the diversification of its business profile and customer base and expand Arch's existing private mortgage insurance operations by com- bining UGC's position as a leader in the private mortgage insurance industry in the U.S. with the financial strength and history of innovation of ACGL, according to ACGL. e acquisition was originally announced in August and completed at the end of 2016. Arch agreed to pay AIG approximately $3.4 billion in a combination of cash and securities at closing. ACGL's U.S. primary mortgage insur- ance operations will be headquartered in North Carolina with significant operations in California and will be overseen by David Gansberg, President and CEO of Arch U.S. MI Holdings. Gansberg will report to Global Mortgage Group CEO Andrew Rippert, who will be responsible for ACGL's global mortgage THE LEADER IN DEFAULT SERVICING NEWS Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com. Tennessee has a negative equity rate of 4.1 percent, which is .3 percent lower than the national average, according to Black Knight Financial Services' November 2016 Mortgage Monitor. KNOW THIS

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