Abstracting to me, is much like Visa/Mastercard, it's a transaction based business. As long as there are refinances, purchases, and foreclosures, etc. there will always be business. If anything, I think the state of the economy has been beneficial to the abstracting business because more people need to borrow money, need to refi at a lower rate to save money, and are getting foreclosed. This creates more transactions for us, and thus more business.

As far as your question, how is business compared to 5 years ago, that's tough to answer. For me personally, it's about the same. Though I do recall things seemed to be a little more "robust" 5 years ago. Back then it seemed like lenders were handing out loans like candy (the result of the unrestricted lending you mentioned)  With the stricter underwriting standards, sure, that part of the business has dried up. Anyway, just my simple layman's perspective...