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.

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Top Stories

Mortgage Rates Hit Year Highs as Iran War Fuels Economic Uncertainty

MICHAEL GERRITY, World Property Journal
U.S. housing demand weakened further in late July 2026 as rising mortgage rates, persistent inflation concerns, and growing economic uncertainty tied to the Iran conflict pushed more prospective buyers to the sidelines.

Starter homes more affordable, but rising rates give pause

BRAD FINKELSTEIN, National Mortgage News
Starter homes in June are now 1.5% more affordable than they were a year ago based on the borrower's income, continuing a trend that began last November, Redfin said. But rising mortgage rates have narrowed the gap.

National News 

Slow Summer Housing Market Gives Buyers More Time, Choices and Negotiating Power

DANA ANDERSON, Redfin News
The U.S. housing market has settled into a slower pace this summer, giving buyers more time to shop and negotiate than they had during the bidding wars of recent years. High mortgage rates are weighing on demand, while rising inventory is giving buyers more leverage. It’s forcing many sellers to price carefully and offer concessions.

JPMorgan plans to spend $750B through 2035 for housing initiative 

HOLDEN WALTER-WARNER, The Real Deal (Subscription)
JPMorgan Chase is putting its money where its American Dream Initiative is. On Monday, the bank announced a goal to spend more than $750 billion on housing efforts through 2035, a 40 percent decade-over-decade increase in the company’s housing capital deployment. The announcement comes months after the company originated more than $5 billion in debt and equity tied to affordable housing through the first three quarters of 2025.

California News

Housing affordability remains out of reach for most San Diegans; average home over $1M

NBC 7 San Diego
In San Diego County, 17% of households could afford to purchase the county's median-priced single-family home of $1.075 million during the second quarter, according to a new report by the California Association of Realtors.

Rent buyouts are rising in S.F. again — and not where you might expect

CHRISTIAN LEONARD, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
More and more San Francisco renters are being faced with a question: How much money would it take to give up their home? The median buyout from January to May this year was worth about $50,000, according to Rent Board data.

Homeownership Comes Late in Life for Californians

MARISOL CUELLAR MEJIA, HANS JOHNSON, Public Policy Institute of California
California’s housing crisis is usually measured in dollars: half-million-dollar starter homes and housing costs that eat up half a paycheck. But there’s another way to see the crisis—in years. Californians now wait longer to become homeowners than they used to, and longer than people almost anywhere else in the country.

Industry News 

Kevin Brown on capital gains, MLS rules and NAR's next fight

JESSI HEALEY, Inman (Subscription)
National Association of Realtors’ President Kevin Brown wants to unlock housing inventory by changing a tax rule that has not moved in three decades.

Real Estate Technology 

Real estate brokerage AI adoption hits a tipping point as holdouts disappear

HousingWire
Real estate brokerages are rapidly embracing artificial intelligence (AI), with just 2% reporting no plans to adopt AI in 2026, according to three-year analysis from the Delta Media Group Real Estate AI & Leadership Survey. The report found that resistance to AI continues to shrink across the industry, while the adoption gap between mid-sized brokerages and the largest firms has disappeared.

Property News 

What Will Become of Florida’s Infamous ‘Holdout House’?

KIRI BLAKELEY, Realtor.com
n the southernmost tip of Clearwater Beach, FL, a luxurious beachfront cottage whose owners reportedly refused all buyout offers for decades is now the lone single-family house in a sea of large condo developments. The property's future is now in question after it sold for nearly $3 million last fall.

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