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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Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Top Stories
Zillow's ChatGPT integration sets off alarm bells for industry leaders
LILLIAN DICKERSON, Inman (Subscription)
There were strong reactions this week to Zillow’s integration with ChatGPT, with some leaders claiming the portal had violated IDX licensing rules. But Zillow maintains it did its due diligence, and is not handing over MLS data to OpenAI.
State audit calls out UC, CSU student housing and says $89 million should not be used for SJSU’s Spartan Village
MOLLY GIBBS, The Mercury News (Subscription)
A new state report released Tuesday alleges that San Jose State University officials are planning to use $89 million in state funds for an unauthorized housing project. The report by the California State auditor evaluates the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges systems and their efforts to provide affordable student housing. The audit was directed by the state Legislature, amid rising student homelessness and housing insecurity across the state.
National News
Florida Court Blocks Transfer of Miami Land for Trump Library
DEBORAH ACOSTA, The Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
A Florida court put on hold the transfer of land held by a Miami college for President Trump’s presidential library, ruling that the college failed to provide reasonable public notice for its board vote to donate the land.
California News
California Forever’s latest plan to build the ‘next great American city’: Expand existing towns
J.K. DINEEN, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
More than a year after pulling the plug on a ballot initiative to create a city in eastern Solano County, California Forever has submitted new “detailed plans for America’s next great American city.” Jan Sramek, CEO of California Forever, said on social media platform X on Tuesday that the plan would include a shipyard, “America’s largest manufacturing park,” as well as “walkable neighborhoods for 400,000 Californians.”
Irvine Co. has new plan for apartments, with 12,000 units brewing statewide
JONATHAN LANSNER, The Orange County Chronicle (Subscription)
California real estate giant Irvine Co. is in the midst of a building push in one hotspot for future development statewide: apartments in less-than-traditional spaces. The Newport Beach-based company, which owns 125 complexes with 65,000 apartments across California, has 3,000 units under construction at three sites in Orange County. There are another 9,000 units in various stages of planning in Orange, San Diego and Santa Clara counties. Irvine Co. would rank 12th among the nation’s top U.S. apartment owners if it participated in the National Multifamily Housing Council scorecards.
Forget stock options. Some employers are handing out down payments
KATE TALERICO, The Orange County Chronicle (Subscription)
San Mateo County social worker Aldo Quintero and his wife, Liza, make respectable salaries in their government jobs, but in a region with a median home price of $1.4 million and a county where the figure reaches $2.2 million, a home for the couple and their two kids in the community they serve was out of reach.
Why an affordable slice of L.A. paradise might never recover from the Palisades fire
NOAH HAGGERTY, Los Angeles Times (Subscription)
As local and state leaders celebrate the fastest wildfire debris removal in modern American history, the Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Home Estates — a rent-controlled, 170-unit enclave off Pacific Coast Highway — remains largely untouched since it burned down in January.
Industry News
Supreme Court just might give REX another shot at NAR, Zillow
LILLIAN DICKERSON, Inman (Subscription)
The Supreme Court will decide within a week whether to revisit discount brokerage REX Real Estate's case against Zillow and the National Association of Realtors over NAR's rule allowing multiple listing services to segregate MLS listings from other properties.
HUD layoffs hit 442 employees amid government shutdown
SARAH WOLAK, HousingWire (Subscription)
Hundreds of employees at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received layoff notices late last week, as the Trump administration followed through on threats to cut staff during the federal government shutdown. Around 4,200 employees across several agencies were laid off in total on Friday, according to a court filing filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California that evening that outlined the “RIFs,” or “reductions in force.”
FHA refinance applications rise 12% amid mixed mortgage rates
SARAH WOLAK, HousingWire (Subscription)
Mortgage applications decreased 1.8% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending October 10, 2025. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 2% compared with the previous week. Despite the overall increase, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) applications saw a strong week, with FHA refinance applications ticking up 12%.
Real Estate Technology
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Property News
Buyer With Ties to the Schwab Family Pays $42 Million for San Francisco Home
SARAH TILTON, The Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
The mystery buyer behind San Francisco’s priciest home sale of the year is a limited liability company linked to Katie Schwab Paige, daughter of the famed financier Charles Schwab, The Wall Street Journal can reveal.
Saturn Haus, a Joshua Tree off-grid modern home on 160 acres, seeks $15M
SANDRA BARRERA, The Orange County Chronicle (Subscription)
A secluded Joshua Tree retreat, designed for off-grid living, is on the market for $14.995 million. The self-sustaining residence known as “The Saturn Haus” spans 4,240 square feet with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Set on 160 acres of desert, the modern design features four distinct structures of concrete, steel and glass connected by open-air corridors.
In Case You Missed It
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Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest
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