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, February 23, 2026
Top Stories
Why the math on inheriting a home in California has totally changed in past years
KELLIE HWANG, San Francisco Chronicle
There’s no shortage of data points to describe how difficult it can be to buy a home in California, particularly in the state’s costly urban metropolises. Home prices remain far higher than the rest of the country; it can take decades to save for a down payment; the rise in mortgage rates in past years has locked even more buyers out, while it also locks in many owners to their current home — making a tight market even more so.
National News
Boston is turning empty office buildings into 1,500 homes. Why can’t San Francisco?
J.K. DINEEN, San Francsico Chronicle
San Francisco and Boston are coastal cousins: a pair of historic cities full of character and culture, narrow alleys and stately avenues, seafood and salty waterfronts, old money and new, left-leaning politics sprouting from roots in ever-evolving ethnic neighborhoods.
And by early 2023 both cities were grappling with the same questions: What would it take to create housing out of the office buildings that had emptied out since the pandemic? How to revive hollowed downtown neighborhoods by injecting thousands of residents while also reducing the glut of ghosted office space that had crushed property values?
Mortgage Rates Continue to Fall While Home Sales Slow Down
MAURIE BACKMAN, U.S. News & World Report
Thirty-year mortgage rates fell to 6.2% this week, a small drop from 6.277% the previous week, according to U.S. News data. Mortgage rates have declined steadily over the past month. And while each weekly dip has been modest, if this trend continues, it could push more buyers into the market.
For the week ending on Feb. 13, 2026, mortgage applications increased 2.8% from the week prior, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinance applications helped drive that uptick.
"Treasury yields ended the week lower as weaker data on retail sales and home sales outweighed better-than-expected readings on the job market for January," said Joel Kan, MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist, in the report.
California News
L.A. wanted to dismantle homeless RVs. A judge just shut that down
DAVIS ZAHNISER, Los Angeles Times
A judge has struck down the latest effort by the city of Los Angeles to tow and destroy broken down recreational vehicles, handing a legal victory to a group of Westside homeless advocates.
In a two-page ruling, Superior Court Judge Curtis A. Kin said Los Angeles officials lack the legal authority to carry out a state law that permits the dismantling of abandoned or inoperable RVs in key parts of the state.
Assembly Bill 630 allows just two jurisdictions — Los Angeles and Alameda counties — to create programs for taking apart and ultimately discarding RVs that are worth up to $4,000, Kin said in Thursday’s ruling.
Industry News
A 26-year-old built a $260,000 ADU on her family's property. Now, she lives in the 748-square-foot space with her sister.
SAMANTHA GRINDELL PETTYJOHN, Business Insider
When Mia Corippo looks out of her door in the mornings, she's greeted by sweeping views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, her rescue dog frolicking in her yard, and a small house that looks almost identical to hers just a few feet away. Corippo doesn't live in a planned community with cookie-cutter homes, though. She lives in an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, on her parents' land, sharing property and resources to save money.
Mortgage Calculator: Here’s How Much You Need To Buy a $399,900 Home at a 6.01% Rate
DINA SARTORE-BODO, realtor.com
Mortgage rates reached their lowest level since late 2022 this week, with the 30-year fixed loan falling to 6.01% for the week ending February 19, down from 6.09% the previous week.
So what impact does this have on your monthly mortgage payment? And what does this mean for homebuyers trying to time their entry into a volatile market?
Here’s the monthly cost of purchasing a typical home today, according to the Realtor.com? mortgage calculator.
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