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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Thursday, April 9, 2026
Top Stories
Average US long-term mortgage rate eases to 6.37% after rising five weeks in a row
ALEX VIEGA, San Diego Union-Tribune (Subscription)
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate eased this week, a modest relief for prospective homebuyers who have been facing higher borrowing costs as mortgage rates climbed to the highest level in nearly seven months. This week’s decline in rates follows five straight increases. When mortgage rates rise, they can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for home shoppers, limiting what they can afford to buy.
A Record 34% of February Home Sellers Cut Their List Price
LILY KATZ, YINGQI XU, Redfin News
More than one-third (34.2%) of February home sellers lowered their list price. That’s up from 31.5% a year earlier and represents the highest February share in records dating back to 2012. February home sellers who lowered their list price cut it by an average of $40,915, or 7.3%—the highest February percentage since 2023. Among all February home sellers (not just those who reduced their price), the average price cut was $13,463, or 2.4%—the highest February percentage on record.
National News
What’s Really the Best Time to Buy a Home?
ARNESA A. HOWELL, New York Times (Subscription)
Buying a home in New York City has rarely been more competitive or emotionally fraught. One way to gain a market edge is knowing when to buy. A recent market report by StreetEasy analyzed condos, co-ops and single-family homes in the city according to frequency of price markdowns, fluctuations in inventory, and the prevalence of open houses on a monthly basis from 2023 through 2025.
‘People are praying for a crash’: Why housing doomers keep getting louder
NICK PIPITONE, Inman (Subscription)
Across history, every major economic cycle has produced its share of pessimists warning that a collapse is just around the corner. From the Tulip Mania and the South Sea Bubble to the lead-up to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, skeptics have consistently called out what they saw as unsustainable market conditions.
California News
California steps up reform to join the single-stair bandwagon
RICHARD LAWSON, HousingWire (Subscription)
California lawmakers introduced AB 2252 to direct HCD to propose standards for single stair multifamily buildings up to 6 stories. The bill is scheduled for an April 22 committee hearing, and supporters cite 6% to 13% potential cost savings.
Sen. Scott Wiener wants to give cities $10K for each new home they build
MAX HARRISON-CALDWELL, San Francisco Standard
State Sen. Scott Wiener, the front-runner to succeed Rep. Nancy Pelosi, has a bold idea to juice housing production: pay municipal governments $10,000 in unrestricted federal funds for every new unit they certify for occupancy. The idea is that the no-strings-attached cash will sweeten the deal for cities that might otherwise resist development.
S.F. cut affordable housing requirements to spur development. Now it may slash them even further
J.K. DINEEN, LAURA WAXMANN, San Francisco Chronicle (Subscription)
Three years ago the San Francisco Board of Supervisors slashed the percentage of affordable units that developers must include within their market-rate housing projects, arguing that it would help revive a residential construction industry that has been moribund since the pandemic. It didn’t work.
Industry News
Zillow economist calls out Redfin for ‘mischaracterizing’ research
LILLIAN DICKERSON, Real Estate News
In mid-March, just two weeks after Rocket announced an exclusive partnership between Redfin and Compass to post the brokerage's Coming Soon listings on the portal, Redfin published an eye-catching report that suggested pre-marketing could boost inventory by 6-12% in some markets. But now a Zillow economist is saying the report's findings merit closer examination.
Real Estate Technology
AI Hallucinations: A Mortgage Lender's Bad Dream
ANDREW LIPUT, National Mortgage Professional
Now that AI-driven technology platforms are entering the industry to make mortgage lending faster, more efficient, and less costly (so it is advertised), lenders need to fully understand the risks, rewards, limitations, and ROI from artificial intelligence and machine learning in their operations workflow.
Property News
Nantucket’s Oceanfront Homes Are Sliding Into the Sea. The Locals Don’t Care.
KRISH MAHER, GRETCHEN TARRANT GULLA, Wall Street Journal (Subscription)
For centuries, the ocean has threatened to swallow Nantucket, a pork-chop-shaped barrier island 30 miles off Massachusetts. Sconset, short for Siasconset, faces the Atlantic like the bow of a ship lashed by winter storms. Erosion has already forced homes to be demolished or moved back over the years.
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