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.

Thursday, April 2, 2026

Top Stories

Mortgage rates climb to a seven-month high of 6.46%

HANNA JONES, Realtor.com
The Freddie Mac 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed for the fifth consecutive week, rising 8 basis points to 6.46% as ongoing conflict in Iran continues to roil financial markets. The recent ascent in rates translates to a monthly payment roughly $115 higher than buyers faced just a month ago, a meaningful shift in affordability calculated on a 10% down payment at March’s median home price. This fast-changing mortgage math, combined with general economic uncertainty, could keep more buyers on the sidelines as the typically-busy spring market gets into full swing.

Monthly Payments Tick Up For First Time in 6 Months As Mortgage Rates, Home Prices Jump

DANA ANDERSON, Redfin News
The median U.S. monthly mortgage payment is $2,742, up 0.4% year over year. While that’s a small increase, it’s the first in nearly six months. Housing payments are climbing because the Iran war and rising oil prices have pushed the weekly average mortgage rate up to a six-month high of 6.38%. Home-sale prices are a factor, too; the median home-sale price rose 2.1% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending March 29–the biggest uptick in a year.

National News 

Japan Is Placing a Multibillion-Dollar Bet on the U.S. Housing Market

REWBECCA PICCIOTTO, Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
For more than a decade, Japanese home builders have been tiptoeing into the U.S. housing market with small, discreet acquisitions of private American construction companies. Their quiet era is over. Japanese builders have announced or closed acquisitions of 23 U.S. single-family home builders since 2020, more than double the number from 2013 to 2019.

U.S. Commercial Mortgage Debt Approaches $5 Trillion

MICHAEL GERRITY, World Property Journal
U.S. commercial and multifamily mortgage debt climbed to a record near $5 trillion at the end of 2025, underscoring continued lending activity even as higher borrowing costs reshape underwriting standards. The data point to a market that remains active but increasingly disciplined. As interest rates stay elevated, lenders are prioritizing asset quality and borrower strength, reinforcing a more selective--yet still liquid--commercial real estate finance environment.

Weekly mortgage refinance demand is down more than 40% in the past month

DIANA OLICK, CNBC
Mortgage rates moved even higher again last week, as the war with Iran continues to stoke fears of inflation. As a result, total mortgage application volume fell again, down 10.4% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

California News

Developer of massive East Bay housing project hopes to break ground next year despite appeal

SARAH RAVANI, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
A transformative plan to redevelop Chevron’s former headquarters in San Ramon into a walkable neighborhood with thousands of homes is facing a new hurdle. A resident filed an appeal against the Orchards development project in Bishop Ranch, where plans call for redeveloping the former office park into three neighborhoods with 2,452 residential units combined and a new retail center. The city has not released details, but the City Council will hear the appeal at its April 7 meeting. 

Study tracked movers for years after they left California. Here's what it found.

TESSA MCLEAN, SFGate
Californians have left the state in search of a lower cost of living for decades, migrating to neighboring states that promise cheaper housing and fewer taxes. Those who moved away from the Golden State can expect to save an average of nearly $700 a month in housing costs, according to a new report from the California Policy Lab. Rent is on average about 30% more affordable — around $631 less — and median home prices are nearly $396,000 less.

Industry News 

MAPPED: Nearly half of America's MLSs have vanished since 2015. Here's what's left.

TAYLOR ANDERSON, Inman (Subscription)
Since 2015, the U.S. has lost nearly half of its multiple listing services (MLSs). But if there’s one emerging consensus among leaders at some of the largest MLSs in the nation, it’s that half isn’t nearly enough. While there’s no broad agreement on the right number of MLSs to serve the industry’s roughly 1.86 million participants, there’s an ongoing consolidation wave that many say should and will continue.

Real estate stock prices have taken a big hit in the past year 

DAVE GALLAGHER, Real Estate News
Some companies have seen their share prices drop by 30% — or more — over the past year amid sluggish housing market conditions and ongoing economic uncertainty.

Real Estate Technology 

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Property News 

What You Get: $2.5 Million Homes in California

ANGELA SERRATORE, New York Times (Subscription)
A midcentury modern in Los Angeles, a Queen Anne Revival in Alameda and a contemporary house in Laguna Beach.

In Case You Missed It 

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Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest 

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