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.

Friday, August 28, 2026

Top Stories

Mortgage rates rise, bringing the average rate on a 30-year home loan to where it was 4 weeks ago

ALEX VEIGA, San Diego Union-Tribune (Subscription)
Mortgage rates ticked higher this week, nudging the average long-term U.S. home loan rate closer to its recent high for the year. Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing power. As rates rise, that can lead prospective home shoppers to delay buying a home, one reason U.S. home sales remain in a rut this year.

Builders Shrink Homes, But Affordability Keeps Slipping

CZARINNA ANDRES, National Mortgage Professional
Builders have spent a decade cutting square footage to bring new homes within reach of increasingly stretched buyers. The strategy has produced smaller houses, but not the kind of cost relief that might be expected to come with them. The average new single-family home sold in 2025 measured 2,409 square feet, down 11.6% from 2,724 square feet in 2015.  Over the same period, the average price per square foot climbed 71.9%, from $100.02 to $171.95.

National News 

Fair housing groups notch win in legal battle with HUD 

MEGHAN ROOS, Real Estate News
A judge has granted a temporary restraining order seeking to block HUD from implementing changes to how some fair housing initiatives and programs are funded. HUD's actions would have withdrawn funding from over 100 fair housing groups that rely on the grants typically funded through the Fair Housing Incentives Program.

How two-minute AI refinancing is changing the mortgage market

JACK TRAPANICK, SCOTT CARPENTER, Los Angeles Times (Subscription)
Lenders say artificial intelligence will help homeowners whose mortgages are ripe for refinancing secure a new, cheaper loan far faster. The result could also squeeze investors in the $9 trillion market for mortgage bonds.

'Zombie Homes' Decline as U.S. Housing Supply Remains Tight

MONSEF RACHID, World Property Journal
The U.S. housing market remains starved for available inventory, with just 1.3% of the nation's residential properties vacant in the third quarter, even as the number of so-called "zombie homes" tied to abandoned foreclosures edged lower.

California News

As A.I. Money Floods the Market, San Francisco Renters Weigh Buyouts

KAMI RIECK, New York Times (Subscription)
As the artificial intelligence boom sends rents and home prices soaring in San Francisco, landlords are initiating buyout negotiations, presenting many tenants with a dilemma: Accept a buyout offer or risk no-fault eviction, in which they would receive only the relocation payment required by law.

You may soon be able to put a solar panel on your apartment balcony in California

ROB NIKOLEWSKI, San Jose Mercury News (Subscription)
A bill in the California Legislature, colloquially known as the Plug And Play Solar Act, that would pave the way for consumers to hook up portable installations on places like patios and balconies is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

Industry News 

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Real Estate Technology 

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Property News 

Huge, historic Northern California cattle ranch to become preserve with trails

KURTIS ALEXANDER, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
One of the oldest cattle ranches in Northern California, recently on the market for $16.9 million with the promise of delivering a stunning “piece of the American West,” is set to be purchased and permanently protected by the nonprofit Wildlands Conservancy. The acreage sits about nine miles east of east of the small town of Callahan in Scott Valley, a largely farming and ranching area tucked beneath rugged, often snow-topped peaks.

In Case You Missed It 

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Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest 

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