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.

Friday, March 27, 2026

Top Stories

Market Jitters Drive Mortgage Rates Up, Sending Some Would-Be Homebuyers to the Sidelines

DANA ANDERSON, Redfin News
Rising mortgage rates, along with a 1.8% year-over-year increase in U.S. home-sale prices, have driven the median monthly housing payment to $2,695—the highest level since June (housing payments are seasonal; they typically peak in late spring or early summer). The median payment is down 1.5% compared to a year ago, the smallest decline in five months.

Agents Take Dim View Of Private Listings, Majority Avoid Them

LEW SICHELMAN, National Mortgage Professional
For salespeople who are supposed to be an upbeat, positive bunch, real estate agents have a surprisingly negative view of their business. While the 213 agents polled in a recent survey intend to remain in the business for the next several years, the majority don’t particularly like the national listing portals that now dominate their work — or their own multiple listing services, for that matter. But they especially dislike the trend toward private listings.

National News 

Fannie, Freddie owe taxpayers for their guarantee

BONNIE SINNOCK, National Mortgage News (Subscription)
The Trump administration has promised to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's implicit government guarantee in any immediate plans for them, but not everyone agrees it should be taken for granted. A panel of government-sponsored enterprise reform veterans who saw Fannie and Freddie go into conservatorship back in 2008 reminded attendees of this at an American Enterprise Institute panel discussion on the GSEs' future this week.

California News

15 California communities given "final warning" by Newsom over housing law violations

TIM FANG, CBS News
More than a dozen cities and counties across California were given a "final warning" from state officials Wednesday, saying they have failed to properly plan for additional new homes amid the state's lack of affordable housing. Gov. Gavin Newsom's office announced Wednesday that the state's Department of Housing and Community Development issued notices to the communities, who have 30 days to respond.

S.F. restored a Chinatown building for low-income tenants. It shows what housing policy often misses

LAURA WAXMANN, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
Two years ago, the decades-old, 82-unit single-room occupancy hotel at 657 Clay St. teetered on the edge of decline, another aging property at risk of slipping from the reach of low-income tenants. Today, its $9.3 million rehabilitation — financed through a state program notable for its scale — stands as both a quiet victory and a pointed lesson: preserving existing affordable homes may lack the flashiness of new construction, but it is no less urgent. 

Industry News 

Louisiana judge dismisses NAR 3-way agreement lawsuit 

LILLIAN DICKERSON, Real Estate News
Louisiana District Court Judge Shelly D. Dick on Wednesday granted a motion to dismiss federal antitrust charges against the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors and its fellow defendants, including the National Association of Realtors, on allegations that the Realtor associations conspired to force agents to pay for three memberships in order to access data on the multiple listing service — while still leaving the door open to continued litigation.

Real Estate Technology 

'AI cannot read the room': Agents weigh in on the promise and limits of artificial intelligence

NICK PIPITONE, Inman (Subscription)
Yesterday, Inman reported that, rather than replacing real estate agents, artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to streamline the operational side of the business. That shift, agents say, is where the technology’s real value lies. In other words, AI isn’t changing what makes a successful agent — it’s giving them more time to lean into their work. And that’s because the reality is that there are still plenty of things AI isn’t good at, and plenty of tools that don’t live up to the hype.

Property News 

To Afford a House in Los Angeles, They Had to Become Landlords

MICHELE LERNER, New York Times (Subscription)
For a couple and their toddler, moving from a noisy street in Hollywood to a tranquil home in the San Fernando Valley meant adding extra income — even if they had to build a house in the backyard.

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