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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Monday, April 27, 2026
Top Stories
Average monthly mortgage payments top $2K — a new record
LILLIAN DICKERSON, Real Estate News
The average monthly mortgage payment has topped $2,000 for the first time ever — surging to $2,005 in Q4 2025, according to Realtor.com's latest quarterly report. The average payment is up 44% from 2021 and represents a whopping $600 increase in just three years.
Real-Estate Firm Re/Max to Be Sold to The Real Brokerage
LAUREN THOMAS, NICOLE FRIEDMAN, Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
Real-estate firm Re/Max Holdings is set to be sold to tech-focused The Real Brokerage in a deal valued at roughly $550 million, the companies announced Monday. Including debt, the value of the deal is about $880 million, the companies said.
National News
Fannie, Freddie, FHA to accept VantageScore immediately
BONNIE SINNOCK, National Mortgage Professional
Federal regulators announced today that they are taking steps to spur competition and legislatively mandated modernization in credit scoring. Freddie Mac has already tested $10 million in loan sales involving use of VantageScore 4.0 and Fannie Mae also now is offering to buy loans on this basis, according to Bill Pulte, head of their regulator, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Commercial mortgage delinquencies climb again
LIEZEL ONCE, Mortgage Professional America
Delinquency rates on mortgages backed by commercial properties edged higher in the first quarter of 2026, adding to a slow but persistent build-up of stress across parts of the market, according to new figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
California News
Southern California condo prices fall 6%, biggest drop in 14 years
JONATHAN LANSNER, Orange County Register (Subscription)
Southern California’s homebuying “bargain” – the condominium – just got its largest discount in 14 years. February home sales statistics from real estate tracker Attom showed a median condo sale price of $656,000 for the six local counties. My trusty spreadsheet found that this price represents a 6% drop over the year, the biggest 12-month decline since February 2012.
This Bay Area affordable housing project is finally rising. The real test is what comes next
LAURA WAXMANN, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
For decades, affordable housing in California has depended on layers of public financing to close what developers call the “financing gap” — the difference between what projects cost and what restricted rents can support. The recent expansion of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) has made affordable housing development more financeable, resulting in some market-rate developers like oWOW crossing over into the space.
An innovative type of housing has stalled in California for decades. Is it finally ready to break through?
ALLISON ARIEFF, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
of supply. State lawmakers moved aggressively in the past few years to remove the bureaucratic obstacles surrounding zoning, environmental review and approval timelines that hamper new development. Yet production has not meaningfully increased. Skyrocketing labor and construction costs have made many housing projects financially infeasible to build. Now, lawmakers are promising to do something about it.
Industry News
How Compass built the biggest empire in real estate history
AJ LATRACD, Inman (Subscription)
When then-Compass CFO Kalani Reelitz told investors in October 2024 that the company would achieve 30 percent market share in its top 30 markets “exiting ’26,” it wasn’t a boast. It was a deadline.
Real Estate Technology
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Property News
This San Francisco home asks $899K. You'll have to climb for it.
ANNA MARIE ERWERT, SFGate
Between Clayton Street and Corbett Avenue in Twin Peaks, there’s a classic San Francisco scene: myriad buildings, houses, stairways and gardens stacked along a hillside, the iconic Sutro Tower hovering overhead. Among these jewel box-like structures is 501 Corbett Ave.
In Case You Missed It
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Resources, Webinars, and Other Items of Interest
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