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.
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Copyright © , California Department of Real Estate
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Thursday, July 9, 2026
Top Stories
Existing home sales slip in June as prices hit record high
LIEZEL ONCE, Mortgage Professional America
The US housing market retreated in June, with existing home sales falling for the first time in three months even as prices scaled a new peak, the latest data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed Thursday. High mortgage rates are expected to keep the US housing market subdued through at least the remainder of 2026, with the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) projecting the 30-year rate will hold in the 6.1%–6.3% range for the rest of the year.
National News
Conforming Loans Slip Below Half Of Mortgage Production
CZARINNA ANDRES, National Mortgage Professional
New data from Optimal Blue's June 2026 Market Advantage report shows purchase rate-lock volume increased 10% from May and 14% from a year earlier, accounting for more than 81% of all mortgage locks. At the same time, conforming loans fell below half of all production for a third consecutive month, underscoring a growing shift toward government, jumbo and non-QM lending.
There Are Now Only 5 Major Metros Where A Typical Luxury Home Costs Less Than $1 Million
CELIZ FERNANDEZ, Redfin News
The typical luxury home costs less than $1 million in five of the top 49 most populous metros, down from eight in 2025. That’s according to a Redfin analysis of home-sale price-tier data for the three months ending May 31, 2026. Luxury homes are defined as those estimated to be in the top 5% of their respective metro area based on prices of homes sold over a rolling 12-month period.
California News
SF leads nation in trimming office vacancy rate as AI drives demand: CBRE
CHRIS MALONE MENDEZ, The Real Deal (Subscription)
San Francisco’s battered office market is showing signs of a real turnaround, with artificial intelligence companies fueling the strongest decline in the vacancy rate of any major U.S. city. As it stands, tenants are currently seeking a record 8.9 million square feet of office space, including 3.1 million square feet from 53 AI companies actively in the market, according to CBRE estimates.
No housing is being built in God’s backyard despite new state law
JOE GAROFOLI, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
Under a 3-year-old state law by state Sen. Scott Wiener, SB4, nicknamed Yes in God’s Backyard, faith-based organizations can bypass many of the requirements to building — including an environmental review — as long as they’re building 100% affordable housing. Turns out it’s not that easy to build in God’s backyard in California. Or in God’s front yard — even with new laws meant to enable it.
LA County wants to put affordable housing groups first in line to buy apartment buildings
DAVID WAGNER, LAist
In what they described as an effort to prevent more corporate landlords from displacing Los Angeles renters, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday to move forward with plans to require a new step in the process of selling certain apartment buildings. If passed on a final vote, the law would compel apartment owners to notify affordable housing groups when they put certain buildings up for sale in unincorporated parts of L.A. County.
Industry News
MLSs ‘a priority’ for NAR’s political advocacy
ANDREA V. BRAMBILA, Real Estate News
In a closed meeting last month, NAR outlined how it is advocating for MLSs at the federal level. The MLS remains “a priority for NAR,” a member of the trade group’s advocacy team emphasized. The trade group is also pushing for federal standards to guide AI use in real estate and ensure that consumer data is protected.
Real Estate Technology
How AI and deepfakes are rewriting the rules of real estate fraud
ROBERT SICILIANO, Inman (Subscription)
The real estate sector faces an unprecedented digital crisis. As of 2026, cybercrime has reached staggering heights, with Americans losing over $20 billion to digital theft annually and over 60 percent of title and escrow agencies reporting a surge in fraudulent activity.
Property News
A New Wellspring for Apartment Conversions: Century-Old Schoolhouses
NICHOLAS G. MILLER, Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
A RentCafe report last year found that nearly 2,000 apartments were created from former school buildings in 2024, up four times from the previous year, making schools the fastest-growing type of building conversion. These conversions have shown little sign of slowing down, with 9,320 units from school-to-apartment conversions in the development pipeline at the start of 2026, up from 7,710 at the start of 2024, according to RentCafe.
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