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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Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Top Stories
House bill calls for HOME housing program reforms
JONATHAN DELOZIER, HousingWire (Subscription)
Despite the government shutdown, U.S. Reps. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) and Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), leaders of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, have introduced the HOME Reform Act of 2025 — a bill promising to streamline the HOME Investment Partnerships Program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The measure represents the first major update to the HOME program since its creation in 1990 under the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act.
Mortgage spreads hit lowest level in years, keeping rates near 6%
LOGAN MOHTASHAMI, HousingWire (Subscription)
The unsung hero of the housing market in 2025 has been the improvement in mortgage spreads, because without the spreads improving as much as they have, mortgage rates would not have gotten near 6% this year. I forecast that mortgage spreads should improve by 0.27%-0.41% this year, from a 2.54% average in 2024, giving mortgage rates a better chance to move down toward the bottom end of my mortgage-rate forecast. Today, the improvement reached 0.42%, so let’s examine why this has been so significant and whether they can improve even more.
National News
What Happened When Small-Town America Became Data Center, U.S.A.
DAVID UBERTI, The Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
Yesenia Leon-Tejeda, like many people on the frontier of America’s tech boom, is basking in newfound prosperity. Her hometown in northeast Oregon was not long ago known for a former chemical-weapons depot nearby, a state prison on the city’s outskirts and the strip clubs once dotting its main drag. But a growing fleet of Amazon data centers has turned the region around Umatilla into an unlikely nerve center for one of the most expensive infrastructure build-outs in U.S. history.
The National Observer: Office foreclosures spark opportunities for some real estate execs
MARK MENSHEHA, The Business Journal (Subscription)
The creation of "digital twins" is bringing attention to a unique collaboration in the AI space. We set the stakes, and we look at executives finding new opportunities with both commercial real estate and quantum computer, in this week's coverage from The National Observer.
Zillow calls Chicago's Private Listing Network a 'hidden listing scheme’
TAYLOR ANDERSON, Inman (Subscription)
Zillow delayed the rollout of its ban on privately marketed listings in the nation’s third largest market, but the portal appears ready to crack down on widely used Private Listing Network.
California News
Economy shows ‘resilience’ despite ‘thorny issues,’ CSUF economists say
PAT MAIO, The Orange County Register (Subscription)
While the U.S. dodged earlier predictions this year of a mild recession, Cal State Fullerton economists say “thorny issues” remain related to inflation and “alarming” hiring conditions. On Thursday, economists Anil Puri and Mira Farka made their predictions for 2026, with their outlook for this year falling short of more dire expectations forecast last year. A mild recession, which they previously predicted would land a year ago, was pushed to late 2025 — but a “gradual downshift” never came.
Office construction in San Diego is at a standstill
JENNIFER VAN GROVE, The San Diego Union-Tribune (Subscription)
Developers are taking an extended break from a slumping San Diego area office market beset by empty space, depressed demand and high construction costs. No office projects are currently under construction countywide, according to a new report from commercial real estate services firm CBRE.
Industry News
First-time homebuyer share hits record low as median age climbs to 40
LIEZEL ONCE, Mortgage Professional America
The share of first-time homebuyers in the United States plummeted to a historic low of 21% over the past year, while the median age of first-time homebuyers entering the market soared to 40, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.
Canadian interest in US homebuying cools as trade tensions rise
JONATHAN DELOZIER, HousingWire (Subscription)
U.S. home shopping activity by international buyers declined modestly in the third quarter of 2025, led by reduced interest from Canadian buyers, according to Realtor.com’s latest International Demand Report. Foreign users accounted for 1.5% of online searches for U.S. homes during the quarter — down from 1.6% a year earlier, although still above the 1.2% share for the same period in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
FHFA inspector general role vacant after reported ouster of Joe Allen
FLÁVIA FURLAN NUNES, HousingWire (Subscription)
The inspector general position at the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is currently vacant after the reported ouster of Joe Allen. Allen, who was appointed as acting inspector general in April 2025, also served as chief counsel for the Office of Inspector General (OIG). It remains unclear when he left the position or whether he continues to serve in his counsel role, according to a report published Monday by Reuters that cited three anonymous sources who weren’t authorized to discuss the matter.
‘Where’s the money?’ Broker working group pushes NAR for clarity on spending
BROOKLEE HAN, HousingWire (Subscription)
In 2024, the compensation packages of executives at the National Association of Realtors (NAR) came under scrutiny. Although nearly a year has passed since the initial New York Times expose, members of the Pro-Agent Restore Trust in NAR Working Group have not forgotten some of the lavish perks their membership dues help pay for. As the trade group makes a renewed effort to focus on transparency, the working group is demanding answers about NAR’s financial expenditures and balance sheet.
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They Tear Down Walls and Hire Architects to Make Room for Their Lego Worlds
TE-PING CHEN, The Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
Cristie North’s version of utopia is built from thousands of plastic bricks and takes up most of her basement. There’s a bustling main street and a beach with swimmers. There’s a moving roller coaster and Ferris wheel and tiny pedestrians. All rendered in Lego. The 55-year-old’s Salt Lake City house has undergone multiple construction projects, including tearing down walls, to make room for her toy projects.
