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, October 17, 2025
Top Stories
Californian home insurance startup uses AI to expand in risky markets
COCO LIU SAIJEL KISHAN & SAIJEL KISHAN, Los Angeles Times (Subscription)
Stand Insurance has raised $35 million in a Series B funding round to expand its artificial intelligence-powered coverage for homeowners. The company targets insurance markets deemed risky, with policies covering properties valued at a total of $1 billion in wildfire-prone California. The company says it will use the fresh funding to expand into Florida this year, another market with a huge protection gap due to its hurricane exposure.
DOJ accuses real estate executives of fraud in homeless funding
ANDREW KHOURI, ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN & DOUG SMITH, Los Angeles Times (Subscription)
The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced charges against two real estate executives accused, in unrelated cases, of misappropriating millions of dollars in state funds allocated to combat homelessness. Prosecutors charged Brentwood resident Steven Taylor, 44, with seven counts of bank fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of money laundering over allegations that he used fake bank statements to get loans and lines of credit for a series of real estate transactions.
National News
With Government Stats Paused, Homebuilder Survey Sends A Positive Economic Signal
BRANDON KOCHKODIN, Forbes (Subscription)
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose five points in October to 37, its highest level since April and the biggest month-over-month improvement since January 2024. The index, based on a monthly survey of single-family builders, measures confidence in current and expected sales conditions on a scale of 0 to 100. Readings above 50 indicate that more builders see conditions as good than poor, meaning that pessimism, while abating, is still widespread.
New York City rents climbed 5.4%, pushing affordability beyond city limits
LIEZEL ONCE, Mortgage Professional America
New York City renters faced another jump in housing costs in the third quarter of 2025, with median asking rent reaching $3,599. Thta's a 5.4% increase from last year, according to Realtor.com’s latest NYC Rent Report. Since rebounding from pandemic lows in 2022, rents have surged 20.2%, outpacing wage growth and intensifying affordability pressures for city dwellers.
Real estate fraud uses forged signature of deceased
JONATHAN DELOZIER, HousingWire (Subscription)
A Cleveland woman says her late mother’s home was sold more than a decade after her death through a forged property deed — one of a growing number of real estate fraud cases nationwide.
California News
Citing fire risk, Malibu wants to arrest homeless people who refuse to stop camping illegally
ANDREW KHOURI, Los Angeles Times (Subscription)
On Monday morning, a homeless man sat in front of the county courthouse in Malibu, where he sleeps each night. In front of him was a small, green propane tank affixed with a torch, which he said he uses to cook and form wood pipes for tobacco and cannabis. A short walk away is Legacy Park, an oasis of coastal prairies, bluffs and native woodlands. The Santa Monica Mountains rose in the backdrop.
Deadline extended for $67.6M Harbor Island marina replacement project
JENNIFER VAN GROVE, The San Diego Union-Tribune (Subscription)
The owner of the 1970s-era marina at the westernmost portion of Harbor Island expects to soon start construction, after a longer-than-planned permitting process, on a $67.6 million redevelopment project that will see the marina’s docks, land-side buildings and public viewing deck remade into a resort-like facility.
Hundreds of new homes for veterans are coming to California through voter-approved Prop 1 funding
GOVERNOR NEWSOM, Press Release
Governor Gavin Newsom today announced new awards to fund the development of 707 permanent supportive homes with services for veterans and other Californians who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and living with behavioral health challenges, along with 13 manager units.
Industry News
Average long-term US mortgage rate slips to 6.27%, nearing a low for 2025
ALEX VEIGA, The San Diego Union-Tribune (Subscription)
The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage declined again this week, easing to just above its lowest level this year. The average long-term mortgage rate slipped to 6.27% from 6.3% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.44%.
Compass-CRMLS fight over listings ownership heats up
STEPHANIE REID-SIMONS, Real Estate News (Subscription)
The small print in an MLS agreement has set off a big dispute between Compass — the nation's largest brokerage — and one of the country's top multiple listing services. It started earlier this week when Compass CEO Robert Reffkin accused the California Regional MLS of forcing "over 100,000 agents to accept a 10-page agreement giving CRMLS the right to SELL the agents' CONTENT and CONTRIBUTION."
Home seller profits down in most metros despite record sale prices
JONATHAN DELOZIER, HousingWire (Subscription)
U.S. homeowners made an average profit of 49.9% on single-family home and condominium sales in the third quarter of 2025, according to ATTOM’s newest U.S. Home Sales Report. That’s up slightly from 49.3% in the second quarter but down from the 55.4% margin seen in the third quarter of last year.
FHFA proposes 2026-2030 strategic plan, signaling shift under Trump administration
FLÁVIA FURLAN NUNES, HousingWire (Subscription)
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is seeking public feedback on its proposed strategic plan for 2026–2030, the agency announced Wednesday. The document, described as “consistent with its statutory requirements and President Trump’s executive orders,” marks a sharp shift from the Biden-era plan. It introduces new priorities such as fraud detection and deregulation, while scaling back previous focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Real Estate Technology
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Property News
See one of Sacramento’s ‘most unique’ homes: Reagan’s almost mansion hits market
DAVID CARACCIO, The Sacramento Bee
Overlooking the American River, a storied mid-century modern estate commissioned in 1975 by Ronald and Nancy Reagan to be California’s official Governor’s Mansion hit the Sacramento housing market Thursday for $7.5 million.
In Case You Missed It
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Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest
From warehouse to high rise: How downtown San Diego’s NewSchool transformed WeWork space into a campus
PHILLIP MOLNAR, The San Diego Union-Tribune (Subscription)
Sometimes a change of scenery can make a big difference. After nearly four decades, downtown San Diego’s NewSchool of Architecture & Design has started its first semester outside of East Village in a high rise in the business district. The university had a rough few years: A decline in enrollment, a revolving door of presidents and an accreditation scare. Yet things seem to be on the upswing for the nearly 50-year-old university at its new location.
