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 03, 2025
Top Stories
FHFA wants crypto in mortgages. Lenders have questions
SARAH WOLAK, HousingWire (Subscription)
Just a week ago, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte issued a directive for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to begin preparing their businesses for the use of cryptocurrency in single-family mortgages. In response, originators are weighing the potential hurdles for offering crypto-backed loans. Despite crypto’s promise, its extreme volatility poses risks, including margin calls if asset values drop. The FHFA‘s directive provides few details on how Fannie and Freddie will integrate crypto into risk models, underwrite loans or price collateral.
National News
California, four other Western states launch probe into underinsurance following Chronicle investigation
SUSIE NEILSON & MEGAN FAN MUNCE, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
A coalition of five states is investigating underinsurance among wildfire survivors after years of costly megablazes across the West, most recently in Los Angeles, and in the wake of a San Francisco Chronicle investigation that laid bare the depth of the issue. The states’ goals are to share data and explore the possibility of either a national law or state-based regulatory reforms to address underinsurance, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara told the state Assembly Insurance Committee at a Wednesday hearing. The group includes representatives from New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon and Washington state.
Homeowner’s insurance premiums vary widely from state to state, but they are all going up
SCOTT COHN, CNBC
Six months after wind-whipped wildfires killed 30 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in and around Los Angeles, the scenes in Altadena and Pacific Palisades are still horrific, with block after block of burned out homes and businesses. But every so often, there are small signs of rebirth, from a property owner cleaning up their lot, or workers repairing a home that was merely damaged. Occasionally, one can even see homes being rebuilt — the owner having navigated the complicated permitting process, and, crucially, having managed to obtain insurance.
California News
California running out of safe places to build homes due to fires, rising seas
ELIYAHU KAMISHER, The Orange County Register (Subscription)
California, gripped by a housing shortage that is forcing families from the state, wants to build 2.5 million homes. But it’s running out of safe places to put them. Much of the land best suited for new housing — windswept, grassy hills surrounding the state’s major cities — now faces an extreme threat of wildfire, brutally illustrated by the Los Angeles-area blazes in January that killed 30 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures.
San Diego gives initial thumbs up to lease 101 Ash for low-income housing
JENNIFER VAN GROVE, The San Diego Union-Tribune (Subscription)
San Diego leaders are embracing a development team’s $250 million proposal to convert the asbestos-ridden, city-owned office tower at 101 Ash St. into hundreds of residential units reserved for low-income families. On Wednesday, San Diego’s Land Use and Housing Committee voted unanimously in favor of recommending approval of a 60-year ground lease with housing developers MRK Partners and Create Dev LLC. The action tees up consideration of the transaction by the full City Council, potentially at the end of the month.
Industry News
Mortgage rate drop unlikely after strong June jobs report
MARIAN MCPHERSON, Inman (Subscription)
The report beat analyst expectations by 37,000 jobs, curtailing hopes of a short-term rate cut in September. Several economists say mortgage rates will likely stay elevated and keep homebuyers on the sidelines.
The evolving joint venture landscape in title and real estate
JONATHAN DELOZIER, HousingWire (Subscription)
As the real estate industry continues to navigate regulatory uncertainty and economic challenges, joint ventures (JVs) between brokerages and title insurance companies remain under scrutiny — especially in the wake of high-profile enforcement actions. To get detailed insights on the current state of JV enforcement and what stakeholders should expect going forward, HousingWire spoke with three experts: Holly Spencer Bunting, a partner at Mayer Brown and a leading voice on compliance with the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA); Aaron Davis, CEO of the Florida Agency Network; and Jeff Ehrlich, a partner with McGuire Woods and a former deputy enforcement director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
New homebuyer commission suit hits the court docket
BROOKLEE HAN, HousingWire (Subscription)
While the Clear Cooperation Policy is the current hot topic in the real estate industry, homebuyer commission lawsuits — which were not part of the numerous nationwide settlement agreements reached late last month — still persist. Last week, Kevin Cwynar, an Illinois-based homebuyer, filed an antitrust lawsuit against The Real Brokerage, Real Broker LLC, Realty ONE Group, Realty ONE Group Excel, Vanguard Properties and The Agency. Cwynar claims that policies the National Association of Realtors (NAR) had in place prior to its settlement business practice changes going into effect in August 2024 resulted in buyers paying inflated commissions.
The CFPB’s budget might be shrinking, but does that even matter?
BROOKLEE HAN, HousingWire (Subscription)
The Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” may contain many initiatives lauded by the housing industry, but if you’re a federal regulator — namely the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — you might have a different take. The multitrillion-dollar bill, which was passed by the U.S. Senate on Tuesday but still awaits approval from the House of Representatives — which previously passed its own version — includes a roughly 50% budget cut for the CFPB.
The National Observer: Real Estate: Lenders, borrowers face tough decisions on CRE debt
ASHLEY FAHEY, The Business Journals (Subscription)
More than five years after the Covid-19 pandemic, billions of commercial real estate debt backed by vacant or obsolete office properties remains distressed or delinquent.
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Madre Fire grows to 35,000 acres, California’s largest wildfire this year
SHWANIKA NARAYAN & ANTHONY EDWARDS, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
A wildfire in a remote part of San Luis Obispo County rapidly grew overnight and spread to over 35,000 acres by Thursday morning, threatening 50 structures, officials said. Called the Madre Fire, the blaze started Wednesday afternoon in the mountains in Los Padres National Forest. Evacuation orders were in place with 5% of the fire contained as of Thursday morning, according to Cal Fire. A section of Highway 166 was closed, according to Caltrans.
