DRE in the News

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.

Copyright © , California Department of Real Estate

Links to web sites do not constitute an endorsement from The California Department of Real Estate. These links are provided as an information service only. It is the responsibility of the user to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from these sites. DRE does not provide full text articles - user must access expired articles via newspaper archives online or local public library.

Thursday, December 18, 2025

National News

Poorer Americans dropped federal flood insurance when rates rose

LESLIE KAUFMAN, Orange County Register (Subscription)
When the US Federal Emergency Management Agency overhauled rates for millions of homeowners in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), in 2021, the goal was to end decades of underpricing and to align premiums with real flood risk, driven higher by climate change.

Pending Home Sales Fall 6%, the Biggest Drop in Nearly a Year

DANA ANDERSON, Redfin News
House hunters are retreating amid high housing costs and a seasonal slowdown, leading prospective sellers to pull back, too.

Homebuilder Lennar Cuts Prices by 10% as CEO Admits Buyers Face an ‘Affordability Crisis’

KEITH GRIFFITH, Realtor.com
Lennar said the price cuts were primarily due to an increased use of sales incentives offered to homebuyers, which the company used to boost home deliveries by 4% year over year despite ongoing weakness in the housing market.

California News

Bay Area home prices fall, marking largest annual price decline in California, figures show

SHARON SONG, KTVU Fox 2
New figures show statewide home sales rose for the third straight month, but the Bay Area is bucking that trend, with the region experiencing the biggest annual decline in California in both home prices and sales.

These hidden rules reveal how California insurers undercut wildfire claims, leaving families in damaged homes

SUSIE NEILSON, MEGAN FAN MUNCE, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
The promise behind home insurance is that, in the event of an accident or catastrophic event, policyholders will receive enough to get back into a home of similar kind and quality up to their policy limits.

Industry News

No stories today

Real Estate Technology

AI Rewrites Playbook for Global Property Dealmakers, Says PwC

MICHAEL GERRITY, World Property Journal
Artificial intelligence, shifting capital flows, and a renewed push for scale are forcing investors to rethink how value is sourced, underwritten, and sustained in a world where capital is no longer abundant--and certainty is scarce.

Property News

Homebuilders have new competition for lots. Data centers

SCOTT FINFER, HousingWire (Subscription)
Data centers are transforming Texas land use, raising costs for residential developers and straining local resources. Lawmakers are considering policy changes amid declining housing affordability.

In Case You Missed It

These were residential real estate’s top stories of 2025

SHERIDAN WALL, JAKE INDURSKY, The Real Deal (Subscription)
It was a tumultuous time for residential real estate’s power players in 2025. The country’s largest brokerage gobbled up some competitors — while going toe-to-toe with some others. The platform wars only heated up as new power players emerged. And in the country’s two largest cities, natural disasters and political changes threatened business as usual.

Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest