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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Monday, August 31, 2026
Top Stories
Three California cities sued over transit housing law defiance
LIEZEL ONCE, Mortgage Professional America
A pro-housing nonprofit backed by the California Association of Realtors® (C.A.R.) has filed lawsuits against three California cities, alleging each is working to subvert a state law meant to open up residential development near major transit corridors. The conflict has direct implications for California's chronically strained housing pipeline.
Americans Are Leaving Areas at Risk of Poor Air Quality, Mostly Because They’re Expensive
DANA ANDERSON, Redfin News
U.S. counties at high risk of poor air quality lost 277,740 residents in 2025–roughly half as many as they lost in 2021, at the peak of pandemic-era migration. While air-quality concerns may influence some movers, affordability is a bigger factor, with Americans leaving expensive high-risk counties and moving into relatively affordable ones.
National News
Federal Judge Blocks HUD Funding Changes
AIMEE ORTIZ, New York Times (Subscription)
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s attempts to overhaul funding practices to nonprofits that pursue housing discrimination claims. The court order restoring the funding is the latest volley in a lawsuit filed by nonprofit organizations dedicated to promoting fair housing.
How Cleveland Is Turning Abandoned Factories Into New Housing And Jobs
JENNIFER CASTENSON, Forbes
Facing deindustrialization and disinvestment, Cleveland is utilizing various tools, including rezoning, permit fee reductions, and tax incentives, to attract development. This public-private initiative seeks to grow diverse housing options, boost the tax base, and serve as a template for other Rust Belt cities, fostering a "walk to work" environment and rebuilding community connections.
California News
LA-Orange County homes still ‘unaffordable’ even with a 0% mortgage
JKONATHAN LANSNER, Orange County Register (Subscription)
If mortgage rates fell to zero, the typical home in Los Angeles and Orange counties would remain out of reach to a house hunter. A potential buyer faced a $3,911 monthly payment with a zero-percent mortgage, plus property taxes and insurance. That would eat up 49% of the metro’s median household income.
Proposed S.F. apartment tower more than doubles in size, sparking fears of backlash
J.K. DINEEN, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
A development team that earlier this year proposed the largest housing development ever in San Francisco’s West Portal neighborhood is more than doubling the number of homes it’s planning at the site and adding three stories to the project. The project shows how an array of local and state laws have reshaped housing approvals in San Francisco, stripping power from neighborhood groups and lawmakers who have historically slowed or blocked development.
Industry News
Lennar lawsuits point to rising cyber liabilities for lenders
SPENCER LEE, National Mortgage News (Subscription)
Homebuilding giant Lennar Corp. and its affiliated mortgage subsidiary are seeing the number of potential class action lawsuits surge after revelations this month of two separate data breaches with over 350,000 potential victims.
Real Estate Technology
How two-minute AI refinancing is changing the mortgage market
JACK TRAPANICK, SCOTT CARPENTER, Los Angeles Times (Subscription)
Lenders say artificial intelligence will help homeowners whose mortgages are ripe for refinancing secure a new, cheaper loan far faster. The result could also squeeze investors in the $9 trillion market for mortgage bonds.
Property News
This Bay Area housing project was approved nearly 20 years ago. Why is it still a concrete skeleton?
SARAH RAVANI, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
A concrete skeleton has sat rusting above Interstate 680 in Fremont for nearly two decades. Graffiti covers some of its columns. People dump trash around the structure. Back in 2007, city officials had a different plan for the site: 158 luxury condos and retail space. But now it’s what Mayor Raj Salwan calls the city’s “most expensive eyesore.”
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