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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Thursday, August 13, 2026
Top Stories
Mortgage rates fall for the first time in 6 weeks
ERIC REVELL, MATTHEW KAZIN, FOX Business
Mortgage rates fell for the first time in six weeks, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Freddie Mac's latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released Thursday, showed the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 6.67% from last week's reading of 6.69%.
The average rate on a 30-year loan was 6.58% a year ago.
National News
Homebuyer numbers hit record low as seller surplus widens
LIEZEL ONCE, Mortgage Professional Magazine
The US housing market registered a historic milestone in July. The estimated number of active homebuyers fell to its lowest level on record, even as the seller count remained near multi-year highs, according to new data from Redfin, the technology-driven real estate brokerage now part of Rocket Companies.
Redfin estimated approximately 966,752 buyers were in the market in July, down 2.5% from June, against around 1,462,921 sellers, a gap of nearly half a million.
Sellers outnumbered buyers by 51.3%, just shy of December's peak of 51.8% and up from 47.9% the month before.
California News
The ‘clean home’ trend catching on with California homebuyers
TESSA MCLEAN, SFGate
Over the past 30 years, most Californians have experienced at least one smokey day driven by wildfires, even if the fire isn’t nearby. As frantically purchased air purifiers whirr in the corner of rooms, it’s the best most residents can do to find a reprieve from the smog. But the new normal for many communities is far from one day of smokey air.
In California, most people don't own a home until 47, report finds
KIM LACAPRIA, Yahoo Finance
For a growing share of California residents, homeownership is now something that happens around middle age — if it happens at all, the Long Beach Post reported.
The current timeline has consequences beyond housing, influencing how families manage money, when they make major life choices, and whether some decide California is still worth staying in.
Industry News
California Rules Discourage Condo Construction (Opinion)
ALI SAPIRMAN, San Jose Inside
Ask a California millennial or Gen Z renter what homeownership looks like for them, and the honest answer is often, “It doesn't.” The median single-family home price in California now hovers around $800,000. And yet, for decades, the state has produced fewer and fewer of the one housing type that could actually bridge that gap — the condominium.
Condominiums are how generations of working and middle-class families built equity and put down roots in the communities where they work. In the South Bay, where median single-family home prices are well over a million dollars, they may be the only realistic path to ownership for a teacher, a nurse, or a first-generation homebuyer.
Real Estate Technology
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Property News
Hillsborough estate sells for record $70 million, highest NorCal home sale in 2026
KARINA NOVA, ABC 7 (San Francisco)
HILLSBOROUGH, Calif. (KGO) -- A 12,000-square-foot estate in Hillsborough has sold for $70 million, setting what the listing agent says is the highest home sale in Northern California in 2026 and the highest sale ever recorded in Hillsborough.
The 12-acre property includes six bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and multiple structures, according to real estate agent Jenn Gilson, who handled the sale.
In Case You Missed It
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Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest
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