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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Wednesday, April 1, 2026
Top Stories
California considering a first of its kind idea to boost factory-built housing
BEN CHRISTOPHER, CalMatters
In an effort to put a dent in the state’s housing shortage, California is considering something unprecedented: getting into the construction insurance business.
Last week, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat, and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers raised the curtain on a long-awaited package of bills meant to push developers toward cost-cutting innovations in construction, with a particular focus on factory-based building.
Building homes in factories and then trucking them to where they’re needed offers a wide array of potential benefits: Faster construction, safer working conditions and lower overall cost that ought to ultimately make housing more affordable.
National News
Trump ban on investor homebuying may come at cost of a bigger real estate deal
BOB WOODS, CNBC
Affordability has gone from being a dry financial term to an all-purpose hot button. Groceries, health care, child care, cars, gas — you name it, and affordability is attached to it these days. And then there’s housing, one of the stickiest issues in America’s affordability discussions.
On March 12, the U.S. Senate passed a massive housing bill addressing affordability and supply, mostly of single-family homes. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, chock-full of more than 40 provisions, garnered rare — by today’s rancorous political standards — bipartisan support, tallying a 89-10 vote. The bill features a slew of financing, permitting, zoning and environmental reforms aimed at lowering housing costs and speeding up new home construction.
California is one of the 10 worst states for new homebuyers. Which was No. 1?
ANGELA RODRIGUEZ, Sacramento Bee
When it comes to shopping for a home, first-time buyers should be prepared for a lengthy process of searching, negotiating and making big financial decisions. Living in California doesn’t make that process any easier.
California News
Gavin Newsom Warns California Cities To Prepare for More Housing—or Else
TRISTAN NAVERA, Realtor.com
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is warning some cities in his state that they need to comply with state laws mandating more housing development, or they could face action from the attorney general.
Newsom said 15 jurisdictions—Kings County and Merced County, plus several smaller cities mostly under 50,000 people like Half Moon Bay and Oakdale—have 30 days to respond before the state takes further action.
California has determined all of them are more than two years behind schedule in adopting an element. None has a clear path to compliance in the next 60 days. Newsom said that indicates they don't plan to comply with the state law.
Industry News
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Real Estate Technology
AI Fake Real Estate Photos Are Fooling Buyers and Breaking California Law
ALEX COOKE, Fstoppers
AI-generated real estate listing photos are showing up on major property websites, and buyers have no way to tell they're fake. In California, a law requiring disclosure already exists, and agents are still ignoring it.
Coming to you from Martin Wong, this eye-opening video walks through a real listing Wong found in his email, one where the exterior of the house shown in the main photo is a white-painted home that bears almost no resemblance to what the property actually looks like.
Property News
S.F.’s Transamerica Pyramid has officially sold, marking end of Shvo’s ambitious ownership era
LAURA WAXMANN, San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco’s most high-profile downtown office deal in years closed Friday, as the Transamerica Pyramid and two adjacent buildings on the same property sold for $691.6 million, public records show. The sale marks the end of Michael Shvo’s time overseeing the iconic building. The New York developer was paid $34 million to have all his involvement with the Pyramid terminated.
The sale means that the buyer — Cyprus-based investment firm Yoda Plc — officially took ownership of one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks after a yearslong effort by its previous owners to upgrade the 48-story tower at 600 Montgomery St., including costly renovations aimed at attracting tenants back to the city’s core. The group is entering the U.S. real estate market for the first time with its acquisition of the property, which includes the Pyramid tower at 600 Montgomery St., a 20-story office tower at 505 Sansome St. and a much smaller, nine-story historic building at 545 Sansome St. As of late last year, the property was about 85% leased, according to Shvo.
In Case You Missed It
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Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest
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