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, 02/21/2025
Top Stories
This California law was supposed to end single-family zoning. Three years later, it’s ‘just symbolic’
CHRISTIAN LEONARD, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
When it went into effect in 2022, Senate Bill 9 was hailed as one of the biggest – and most controversial – housing laws in years./ Observers called it the end of single-family zoning in California, with the law essentially legalizing duplexes in large swaths of the state’s suburbs. Combined with its lot split provision, SB 9 homeowners turn one home into as many as four.
Real estate losses from fires top $30 billion, from old mobile homes to $23-million mansions
DOUG SMITH & SANDHYA KAMBHAMPATI, Los Angeles Times (Subscription)
Real estate losses from the Palisades and Eaton fires could top $30 billion, and government agencies that receive revenue from taxes stand to lose $61 million or more annually while homes are being rebuilt, a Times analysis shows.
National News
January home sales fall as high mortgage rates, prices freeze out would-be buyers
ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in January as rising mortgage rates and prices put off many would-be homebuyers despite a wider selection of properties on the market. Sales fell 4.9% last month from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.08 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.
Under pressure from NAR, Phoenix Realtors cuts MLS Choice
STEPHANIE REID-SIMONS, Real Estate News (Subscription)
The Arizona association had been facing the loss of its charter after offering a discounted, non-Realtor membership option that included MLS access.
Where Gen Z buyers are finding affordable homes
KRISTI WATERWORTH, Real Estate News (Subscription)
In several metros in the Midwest and South, Gen Z accounted for a fifth of the mortgage applicants. Home prices in those markets were typically below $300K.
California News
Two major California home insurers to raise rates later this year, affecting 666,000 customers
MEGAN FAN MUNCE, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
Regulators have given two major insurers the OK to begin raising rates for 666,000 customers starting later this year.
Caruso-backed nonprofit partners with builder to give prefab homes to fire victims
MATT HAMILTON, Los Angeles Times (Subscription)
Can prefab homes accelerate the rebuilding of Altadena and Pacific Palisades? The new foundation launched by Rick Caruso is hoping they will, announcing on Wednesday a $15-million pledge from an Airbnb co-founder to provide nearly 100 prefabricated homes in communities ravaged by wildfire.
Judge sides with city, Padres development team on one claim against Tailgate Park deal
JENNIFER VAN GROVE, The San Diego Union-Tribune (Subscription)
San Diego secured a partial victory in the courtroom battle contesting the city’s pending sale of an East Village parking lot known as Tailgate Park to a development team led by the San Diego Padres. Last week, San Diego Superior Court Judge Katherine Bacal ruled against nonprofit Project for Open Government on a single cause of action in the group’s lawsuit seeking to kill the deal.
No new ADUs here: When California law and homeowners association rules collide
BEN CHRISTOPHER, CalMatters
Adam Hardesty insists he wanted to do everything by the book. Before moving forward with his plans to convert the garage of his three-story condo into a ground-floor apartment, he canvassed local architects and engineers to make sure a kitchenette, a bedroom and a bathroom could all be packed safely and legally into just 373 square feet.
Industry News
Judge clears way for federal layoffs, including at the CFPB and VA
SARAH WHEELER, HousingWire (Subscription)
A U.S. District Court judge in Washington, D.C., cleared the way for mass layoffs of federal employees — including at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) — when he ruled Thursday that four labor unions that filed suit against the Trump administration needed to file a complaint with the Federal Labor Relations Authority instead.
NAHB to Congress: Ease regulatory burdens for builders
BROOKLEE HAN, HousingWire (Subscription)
The Trump administration wants to improve housing affordability and availability, as emphasized by an executive order signed by the president on his first day back in office. The order called upon the heads of all executive departments and agencies “to deliver emergency price relief, consistent with applicable law, to the American people.”
Real Estate Technology
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Property News
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In Case You Missed It
$125 million mortgage relief program OK’d for California disaster victims
PAT MAIO, The Orange County Register (Subscription)
The California Housing Finance Agency expects to begin a $125 million mortgage relief program to benefit victims of recent wildfires and other natural disasters by June 1. The program, which taps funds from a legal settlement fund created after major lenders were accused of misconduct during the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008, was approved Thursday, Feb. 20, by the agency’s 10-member board of directors.
Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest
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