COVERAGE INFORMATION:

California Department of Real Estate (DRE) NEWS CLIPS service coverage:

Monday through Friday (except state holidays) each week includes electronic format articles retrieved from newspapers or news services that report real estate related news in California and some national services. Coverage is for California newspapers that are available electronically via the Internet - and any significant related breaking news.

Monday, March 2, 2026

Top Stories

New Bill Would Prevent Tariffs From Driving Up U.S. Housing Costs

ERIC C. PECK, National Mortgage Professional
The Housing Tariff Exclusion Act would create a process to automatically exempt many building materials from current and future tariffs and allow importers to apply for exemptions on other essential construction inputs. The bill comes amid ongoing concerns that tariffs on imported materials such as lumber, steel, and other construction inputs have driven up costs for builders, contributing to higher home prices and exacerbating supply shortages.

House-buying power surge lifts hopes for spring 2026 market

LIEZEL ONCE, Mortgage Professional America
Spring 2026 is set up to be the first home-buying season in three years where typical buyers arrive with more room in their budgets than sellers are asking, according to new analysis from First American senior economist Sam Williamson.

National News 

Private Residential Construction Spending Edges Higher in December

NA ZHAO, Eye on Housing
Private residential construction spending was up 1.5% for the last month of 2025. This modest gain was driven primarily by increased spending on home improvements and single-family construction. Despite this increase, total spending remained 1.3% lower than a year ago, reflecting the continued impact of housing affordability challenges facing the sector.

Lawmakers target ‘free money’ home equity finance model 

AJ LATRACE, Real Estate News
Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering a bill that would classify home equity investments (HEIs) and shared equity contracts as residential mortgages. While the proposal is still in committee, the debate unfolding in Harrisburg reflects a broader national effort to determine whether these products are truly a new category of equity-based investment — or if they function as mortgages and belong under existing consumer lending laws.

California News

In California, About the Only Way to Get a House Is to Inherit One

NICOLE FRIEDMAN, VERONICA DAGHER, Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
Inheritance is one of the last reliable ways for younger Californians to own their first home. About 18% of all property transfers in the state last year, representing nearly 60,000 homes, were made through inheritance, according to a recent analysis by real-estate data firm Cotality. That share is a record for California in data going back to 1995, up from 12% in 2019. It is also roughly double the national share of 8.8% last year.

Proposed waterfront tower could test California’s power to override S.F. height restrictions

J.K. DINEEN, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
In 2014 San Francisco voters delivered a strong message at the ballot box: No tall buildings on the waterfront without our approval. But now, a dozen years later, in a political landscape dominated by YIMBY-backed laws aimed at forcing cities to build more housing, a proposed apartment complex on the Embarcadero is emerging as a test case of whether the powerful state “density bonus” legislation preempts the local voter-approved regulations.

Industry News 

With merger complete, layoffs come for Anywhere and Compass

TAYLOR ANDERSON, Inman (Subscription)
Six weeks after Compass closed on its acquisition of Anywhere Real Estate, multiple current and past employees have confirmed to Inman that there are ongoing layoffs taking place at both brands in recent days. While the extent and intent of the cuts aren’t immediately clear, the layoffs are taking place across many levels of both companies, according to several sources.

Real Estate Technology 

Hey, real estate brokers: AI is not ‘coming soon,’ it’s already here

ALLEN BUCHANAN, Orange County Register (Subscription)
AI will not replace brokers. It cannot build trust. It cannot sit across from a nervous seller and create calm. It cannot read emotion or sense hesitation. But it can analyze data in seconds. It can draft marketing copy in minutes. It can summarize leases instantly. It can identify ownership patterns. It can model scenarios. It can compress hours of research into moments. And in brokerage, time is leverage.

Property News 

What You Get: $1.4 Million Homes in California

ANGELA SERRATORE, New York Times (Subscription)
A split-level in Mill Valley, a condo in a former factory in San Francisco and a mountain retreat in Idyllwild.

In Case You Missed It 

Tax auction: Riverside County sets $100 floor for bids on resi properties

CHRIS MALONE MENDEZ, The Real Deal (Subscription)
Riverside County opened registration for auctions on tax-defaulted homes, the California Post reported. Nearly 1,000 homes will be available in the public online auction via Bid4Assets.com this April, with at least 24 having opening bids of $100. Up for bids are 946 properties stretching from Palm Springs to Menifee with lots consisting of houses or vacant parcels that were seized as a result of unpaid property taxes.

Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest 

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