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, February 26, 2026
Top Stories
Affordability Pyramid Shows Over Half of U.S. Households Cannot Buy a $300,000 Home
NA ZHAO, Eye on Housing
The housing affordability pyramid illustrates the number of households able to purchase a home at various price steps. Each step represents the number of households that can only afford homes within that specific price range. The largest share of households falls within the first step, where homes are priced under $200,000.
Trump Frames Housing Affordability Gains In State Of The Union
ERIC C. PECK, National Mortgage Professional
During his 2026 State of the Union address President Donald Trump highlighted declining mortgage costs and outlined his administration’s strategy to improve housing affordability through lower interest rates, deregulation, and expanded housing supply.
National News
U.S. Single-Family Rents Cool to 15-Year Lows in Late 2025
MICHAEL GERRITY, World Property Journal
Single-family rent growth across the U.S. decelerated sharply at the end of 2025, underscoring a broad cooling in housing demand and rising tenant leverage in several Sun Belt markets.
New York City’s Proposed 9.5% Real Estate Tax Hike Hits A National Nerve
KELLY PHILLIPS ERB, Forbes
In New York City, property taxes are back in the headlines. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has floated the idea of raising them—by 9.5%—as part of this year’s budget. The proposed hike has raised eyebrows across the country, not just in New York City.
$30,000 Buying Power Boost Can Be the Difference Between Settling and Choosing for Home Buyers
KARA NG, Zillow Research
Improving affordability points to a more active home shopping season this spring. A median-income U.S. household can now comfortably afford a $331,483 home (assuming a 20% down payment). That’s just over $30,000 more than a year ago. Lower mortgage rates and rising incomes have made the difference.
California News
Proposed ballot measure that would heavily tax thousands of second homes in San Diego clears critical hurdle
LORI WEISBERG, San Diego Union-Tribune (Subscription)
Under the current version of the empty homes tax measure, owners of vacant second homes would have to pay an annual levy of $8,000 the first year, effective in 2027, and $10,000 every following year. An additional surcharge of $4,000 the first year and $5,000 thereafter would be imposed on corporate-owned dwellings.
Court slashes $6.85bn judgment in California apartment partnership war
CARLEEN BONGAT, Mortgage Professional America
A California family’s $6.85 billion fight over a billion‑dollar apartment portfolio has been cut back on appeal – and the timing and paperwork matter. For mortgage and real estate professionals, the case reads like a cautionary tale about handshake‑style deals, control of holding companies and how large damages can become when relationships collapse.
San Francisco is most-expensive US city for two-bedroom rent
The Real Deal (Subscription)
San Francisco reclaimed its top spot as the priciest market in the country for two-bedroom apartments. The median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the city is $5,120, which is $50 higher than in New York, the San Francisco Business Times reported, citing Zumper’s February National Rent Index.
Industry News
Old tricks, new tech? Opendoor reboots in-house mortgage
NICK PIPITONE, Inman (Subscription)
Opendoor is testing its own in-house mortgage product, a move that could reshape how buyers finance homes on the iBuyer’s platform and reignite debates over vertical integration in residential real estate.
Real Estate Technology
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Property News
What a $3 Million Fire-Resistant Home Looks Like
KATHERINE CLARKE, Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
In the L.A. wildfires of January 2025, real-estate developer Ardie Tavangarian and his family lost their Pacific Palisades home of more than 30 years, along with most of their belongings. Since then, Tavangarian said, he has refocused his professional life on a new mission: creating an extremely fire-resistant home to serve as a model for rebuilding.
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