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, March 26, 2026
Top Stories
Mortgage Rate Volatility Surges As Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Ramp Up MBS Buying
CZARINNA ANDRES, National Mortgage Professional
Mortgage rates are not just rising; they are swinging sharply from day to day, freezing borrowers and disrupting deals across the country. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are intervening with aggressive mortgage bond buying to stabilize a market rattled by geopolitical shock.
States push back on buyer agreements as new laws challenge NAR rules
BROOKLEE HAN, HousingWire (Subscription)
Mississippi and Alabama enacted laws stating buyer agents do not need signed agreements before touring homes, a direct conflict with the NAR settlement’s buyer agreement requirement. Other states are considering similar bills, while Texas and Oregon moved toward stricter written agreement requirements.
National News
The Affordability Trap: Who Is Renting in America and Why They Can’t Stop
JIAYI XU, Realtor.com
Young renters are being priced out of the markets they once defined. Family renters—disproportionately minority households—find homeownership structurally out of reach. And long-term renters are largely locked in place—many unable to afford the market they already live in. Together, they reveal a rental landscape shaped less by individual preference than by cost, geography, and unequal access.
Fannie Mae to Accept Crypto-Backed Mortgages for the First Time
NICOLE FRIEDMAN, Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
The mortgage-finance giant Fannie Mae will soon accept so-called crypto-backed mortgages for the first time, the latest expansion of cryptocurrencies into mainstream financial transactions. This isn’t the first crypto mortgage offering, but Fannie’s involvement could make these types of products more mainstream. Fannie is backed by the federal government and overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
California News
FBI arrests 11 in LA over alleged $17m real estate, loan fraud
LIEZEL ONCE, Mortgage Professional America
A sprawling “house stealing” operation allegedly targeted elderly homeowners and pulled in roughly $17 million over several years. The case exposed just how vulnerable fully paid‑off properties remain to title and mortgage fraud. The case, dubbed “Operation Hard Money,” stemmed from a 2022 loan of about $5.7 million that investigators said was obtained with a victim’s stolen identity and forged documents.
OC home builders post 16% drop in sales in 2025
CHRIS MALONE MENDEZ, The Real Deal (Subscription)
Home builders in Orange County saw a nearly one-fifth reduction in new home sales last year compared to 2024. The county’s 14 largest builders sold 1,785 new homes in 2025, representing a 16 percent drop from 2,133 the year before, the Orange County Business Journal reported, citing its own data. Higher borrowing costs and affordability constraints contributed to the cooling demand, according to the Business Journal.
Industry News
Arizona’s largest MLS shifts to independent board of directors
TAYLOR ANDERSON, Inman (Subscription)
One of the nation’s largest MLSs recently voted to overhaul its board of directors in a move that could ease decision-making, remove the appearance of politics and put governance at arm’s length from the agents and brokers competing in the state. Shareholders and the existing board of the Arizona Regional MLS (ARMLS) approved the change to install an independent board of directors later this year. None of the new board members will be licensed to transact real estate in the state.
REMAX settles in Batton commissions case
AMIE FISHER, Real Estate News
RE/MAX, LLC is the latest brokerage company to reach a settlement in the five-year-old commissions case known as Batton. The company announced today via an SEC filing that it had entered into a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs on March 19. The deal releases all REMAX affiliates, franchisees and subsidiaries from litigation in the case.
Real Estate Technology
New AI mortgage tools unveiled at ICE Experience 2026
SPENCER LEE, National Mortgage News (Subscription)
New technology products and enhancements typically go hand-in-hand with mortgage conferences, and this month's ICE Experience 2026 in Las Vegas proved to be no exception. Artificial intelligence took the spotlight, and on ushering in its own AI-backed voice and chat servicing agents, event host Intercontinental Exchange said they were among several future rollouts that the company has in store for its mortgage clients.
Property News
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In Case You Missed It
More than 2,100 new affordable homes to low income and unhoused Bay Area residents thanks to state funded cleanup
California Department of Toxic Substances Control
More than 2,100 new affordable homes for low income and unhoused Bay Area residents will be available thanks to state-funded cleanup of contamination on otherwise unusable land across the region.
Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest
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