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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Friday, February 20, 2026
Top Stories
A proposal to exempt South Bay homeowners ages 60 and older from property taxes could cost local governments billions
GRACE HASE, San Jose Mercury News
When former Saratoga Councilmember Rishi Kumar ran for Santa Clara County Assessor last year, he campaigned on the promise of exempting homeowners ages 60 and older from paying property taxes.
After he lost by a landslide to Neysa Fligor in the Dec. 30 runoff election, Kumar turned that pledge into a statewide ballot initiative campaign. But a new state analysis sheds a sobering reality on his idea, noting it could cause “major fiscal effects” for local governments — with revenue losses in the billions.
National News
White House Offers New Details on Its Push to Ban Housing Investors (subscription)
REBECCA PICCIOTTO, Wall Street Journal
The White House is ratcheting up pressure on Congress to enact President Trump’s proposed ban on investors buying homes, laying out for the first time what sort of investment firms he plans to target.
California News
Citing fire risk, L.A. city may get more power to remove hillside homeless encampments
NOAH GOLDBERG, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles city officials may be empowered to remove homeless encampments from hillside areas at severe risk of fire, even without the property owner’s permission, under a proposal that the City Council moved forward on Tuesday.
The proposal would allow the city to remove hazardous materials, including homeless encampments, from private property in hillside areas in “Very High Fire Severity Zones,” including in the Santa Monica and Verdugo Mountains.
By an 11-3 vote, the council directed the city attorney to draft changes to the municipal code, which the council will then vote on at a later date.
California’s cost of living is still the highest in the country. One expense is starting to stand out
CHRISTIAN LEONARD, HANNA ZAKHARENKO, San Francisco Chronicle
California still has the highest cost of living in the U.S. And it’s not just because of housing.
The state’s prices in 2024 were about 11% higher than the national average, once again the highest cost gap in the nation, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The data, which serves as the federal government’s most comprehensive measure of regional cost-of-living differences, are published on a lag, so the most recent estimates available are for 2024.
Malibu Sues Los Angeles and the State of California Over 2025 Wildfire Damage That Destroyed a Third of the City
TRISTAN NAVERA, Realtor.com
The city of Malibu is suing Los Angeles, the state of California, and several other state and local entities claiming their actions led to the extensive damage it suffered in the 2025 wildfires.
The fires, which destroyed over 700 homes and dozens of businesses in Malibu, were "a foreseeable and proximate result of the unlawful conduct" of the state and city, according to the complaint filed in California Superior Court.
The complaint also names Los Angeles County; Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; California Department of Parks and Recreation; Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority; and Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy as defendants.
Industry News
California’s housing crisis has turned RVs into rental properties
KATE ROGERS, CNBC
As the San Francisco Bay Area faces a severe housing shortage, a growing number of residents are turning to RVs as a last resort, with vehicle-based homelessness more than doubling since 2019. While San Francisco and San Jose implement new laws to crack down on street encampments, local nonprofits are racing to provide safe, sanctioned parking sites. CNBC’s Kate Rogers visits the Berryessa Safe Parking site in San Jose to explore how these communities provide a vital bridge to long-term housing.
Real Estate Technology
Zillow report: Agents want tech that saves brainpower
Zillow Front Porch
SEATTLE, Feb. 19, 2026 -- Real estate agents know that time is money, yet they would sacrifice both for technology that saves them mental energy instead.
According to Zillow's 2026 Agent Trends Survey, ease of use is agents' top priority when choosing new tech tools, above both cost and time savings. Despite agents reporting they prioritize an easy-to-use platform, nearly all agents manage their workflows across multiple systems, despite ongoing innovation that could allow for simplified processes. Today, a typical agent uses between two and four tools in a typical week — a trend that has held steady over the past year.
The findings reflect the reality that many agents are navigating: Managing multiple platforms and fragmented workflows drains mental energy that could otherwise go toward serving clients. Tools that reduce cognitive load — that make the work itself simpler — allow agents to focus on what actually drives their business: relationships, responsiveness and strategic guidance.
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