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, May 08, 2025
Top Stories
Trump proposes cut to federal rental assistance. California would be hit hard
ANDREW KHOURI, Los Angeles Times (Subscription)
The Trump administration wants to sharply reduce funding for federal rental assistance that helps hundreds of thousands of California households afford a home. The plan, part of the president’s 2026 budget proposal, calls for a 43% reduction in funding available for a variety of programs it labels “dysfunctional,” including public housing and the voucher program commonly known as Section 8.
National News
Appraisal Trade Group Accused of Covering Up Sexual Harassment and Test Flaws
DEBRA KAMIN, The New York Times (Subscription)
The organization that influences how much houses and commercial buildings are worth in the United States privately paid one woman $412,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim and fielded similar complaints from at least seven other women that have swirled within the group over the last decade, The New York Times has found.
Home Prices Have Exploded in the Once Sleepy Fishing Village of Port Aransas
JESSICA FLINT, The Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
On the Texas Gulf Coast near Corpus Christi is Mustang Island, a narrow barrier island with 18 miles of mostly uninterrupted beachline and a large state park. Its main city, Port Aransas, known as Port A, has a population of roughly 3,500 that swells to the tens of thousands in the spring through fall. Within the past decade, Port A home prices have grown 155%, according to Redfin. Once a small fishing village, the city has become a hub for wealthy second homeowners buying multimillion-dollar, pastel-colored properties within newer master-planned communities designed to evoke northwestern Florida’s 30A stretch. Still, Port A is distinct, a place where a laid-back pace of life meets a mashup of island vibes and Texas hospitality.
California News
Where are rents still falling in Southern California?
JONATHAN LANSNER, The Orange County Register (Subscription)
Southern Californians seeking an apartment deal are finding this chore is getting tougher. My trusty spreadsheet reviewed April’s rent report from ApartmentList for the 250 largest U.S. cities, including 32 from Southern California. ApartmentList combines pricing patterns for all-sized rentals from its own listings with government rent-cost data to create its rent indexes.
‘Millions out on the street virtually overnight’: How Trump budget could affect California
CALMATTERS, The Orange County Register (Subscription)
President Donald Trump recently released a budget blueprint for the next fiscal year that would take a chainsaw to social, environmental and education programs. Some of the sharpest cuts are directed at housing programs that are meant to serve the poor, housing insecure and unhoused. In California, millions are served by these funds and state and local governments depend on them to operate affordable housing, rental assistance, homeless service, planning and legal programs.
Unincorporated Pleasanton residents relying on hose water after line breaks
KYLE MARTIN, The Mercury News (Subscription)
There is a garden hose running from Rick Hempy’s house to his neighbor’s homes, supplying them with water to shower, bathe or wash dishes. The web of hoses, which includes the one from Hempy’s home, was the unincorporated neighborhood’s latest water troubles. Last summer, a line supplying at least six homes broke, forcing the city of Pleasanton to feed water to the homes through a fire hydrant.
Industry News
Pulte: North Korean and Chinese nationals working at GSEs referred to DOJ
CHRIS CLOW, HousingWire (Subscription)
Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and chair of the boards at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said in an interview on Tuesday that a handful of employees at the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) who are from U.S. geopolitical foes China and North Korea have been referred to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Pulte was interviewed by Bloomberg TV at The Milken Institute Global Conference. He was asked about the ongoing effort to privatize the GSEs before speaking about what he has seen at the agencies that has caused him concern. Among these elements, Pulte suggested that people from China and North Korea were embedded at the GSEs, posing as contractors or other staffers.
Fed holds rates steady as it remains in wait-and-see mode
FLÁVIA FURLAN NUNES & NEIL PIERSON, HousingWire (Subscription)
Mortgage lenders and prospective borrowers looking for relief from high interest rates will need to wait longer. In a widely expected decision on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept rates steady at a range of 4.25% to 4.5% following its two-day meeting. This move continues a pause that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) began in January. That came after a series of rate cuts in late 2024 — specifically, a 50 basis-point cut in September and a pair of 25-bps cuts in November and December.
There’s a new enforcement playbook for mortgage lenders
FLÁVIA FURLAN NUNES, HousingWire (Subscription)
As employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sit in home offices awaiting news of their fate, the enforcement landscape has already shifted to state regulators. And if Craig Ungaro’s experience is any indication, the dynamic will pose a very different challenge for independent mortgage banks.
Are private listings and fiduciary duty truly opposites?
BROOKLEE HAN, HousingWire (Subscription)
As the debate over the Clear Cooperation Policy (CCP) and the proliferation of private listings has heated up, the term “fiduciary duty” has been bandied about. But could listing a client’s property on a private network instead of the MLS really be considered a breach of fiduciary duty? HousingWire consulted legal and consumer advocacy experts to find out.
Real Estate Technology
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Property News
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In Case You Missed It
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Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest
Stretch of I-80 to close in Sacramento area for more than 2 days. When and where
VERONICA FERNANDEZ-ALVARADO, The Sacramento Bee
A key stretch of Interstate 80 will close for more than two days due to construction, according to the California Department of Transportation. Crews are working on “ongoing replacement and striping work” on eastbound I-80 and Highway 50 in West Sacramento, Caltrans said in a news release on Monday, May 5.
