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 2023, California Department of Real Estate Links to web sites do not constitute an endorsement from The California Department of Real Estate. These links
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Top Stories
State of California Department of Justice
California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced filing a lawsuit against MV Realty, a Florida-based company that engaged in a predatory scheme
to lock vulnerable homeowners into 40-year exclusive listing agreements and placed illegal liens on their homes. Filed in Los Angeles Superior Court,
the lawsuit alleges that nearly 1,500 California homeowners have signed these unlawful agreements with MV Realty, which lured homeowners with an
immediate payment of anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars in exchange for being the homeowner’s real estate agent should
the homeowner sell their home in the future.
Texas homesellers file new commission suit as cases pile up
JIM DALRYMPLE II, Inman (Subscription)
The number of commission lawsuits seeking to up end the real estate industry’s status quo continued to pile up this week as a new group of homesellers in Texas began a case against a group of Realtor associations, multiple listing services and brokerages.
The case has an extensive list of dozens of defendants, including the Texas Association of Realtors, the Austin Board of Realtors, the San Antonio Board of Realtors, the MetroTex Association of Realtors, the Houston Association of Realtors, and numerous other Realtor associations.
California News
Coastal Commission slams a group of Santa Cruz County homeowners with $4.7 million in penalties
PK HATTIS, The San Jose Mercury News (Subscription)
SANTA CRUZ – The California Coastal Commission issued more than $4.7 million in fines Thursday against a group of beachfront homeowners in Aptos in what is the highest penalty the agency has levied in Santa Cruz County history.
California housing projects for homeless on hold as developer defaults
JEANNE KUANG, CalMatters
King City, population 14,000, wanted to show that even small towns can try to solve homelessness.
The Monterey County community last year partnered with Los Angeles-based developer Shangri-La Industries to land a grant from Homekey, California’s $3.1 billion program to help cities build affordable housing for their homeless residents.
Now the whole project may be in jeopardy. And the California Department of Housing and Community Development said this week it is investigating Shangri-La for program violations.
Florida company targeted California homeowners with predatory scheme, state attorney general alleges
ANDREW KHOURI, The Los Angeles Times (Subscription)
The California attorney general has sued a Florida-based real estate firm, alleging it ran a predatory scheme that limited homeowners’ ability to sell and left them vulnerable to owing thousands of dollars.
The company, MV Realty, has been sued over similar allegations by multiple states. In September, the firm filed for bankruptcy.
In its lawsuit announced Thursday, the California attorney general’s office alleged MV Realty targeted financially vulnerable California homeowners with deceptive marketing, promising them $300 to $5,000 as long as they gave MV Realty the “opportunity” to be their real estate agent if they sold their house.
‘Two different worlds.’ Gavin Newsom rips DeSantis, talks California housing on late night TV
LINDSEY HOLDEN, The Sacramento Bee (Subscription)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom held a post-mortem about his face-off with Ron DeSantis, and sprinkled in some talk about zoning laws, in his appearance on
NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” early Thursday morning. Newsom said he had “developed a lot of animus” toward the Florida governor, his opponent in the
Nov. 30 “Red State vs. Blue State” debate, “because of his animus towards all of you.” “This guy is out there scapegoating vulnerable communities,” Newsom said.
“He’s attacking minorities, he’s attacking women. And I don’t like it, and I wanted to push back against it. And I felt like the party was a little timid
on all this.”
“A real penalty”: how Newsom has legitimized builder’s remedy
ISABELLA FARR, The Real Deal (Subscription)
When Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, announced on Tuesday that the two wanted to jump into a fight over a builder’s remedy
project in La Cañada Flintridge, land use attorney Dave Rand was elated.
National News
LILY KATZ, Redfin News
New listings and pending home sales both climbed to the highest level in roughly a year in November as buyers and sellers got tired of waiting
on the sidelines and mortgage rates ticked down. Home prices also jumped, posting the biggest year-over-year increase since late 2022.
U.S. Apartments Still Enjoy Healthy Demand in Q3
DAVID BARLEY, World Property Journal
According to new CBRE research, the U.S. multifamily market continued to see healthy demand in the third quarter of 2023, though rent growth slowed from previous highs.
Mortgage rates hit lowest rate since August
KATE TALERICO, The San Jose Mercury News (Subscription)
Mortgages rates dipped below 7% this week for the first time since August – and they could keep sliding further.
After reaching their highest point in the last two decades in late October, mortgage rates have been dropping for the last seven weeks, falling to an average of 6.95% this week for a 30-year-fixed rate mortgage, according to data from Freddie Mac released on Thursday.
“It’s great news for buyers and sellers,” said Oscar Wei, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors.
Industry News
Bipartisan Senate Bill Takes Aim At Mortgage Trigger Leads
CHRISTINE STUART, National Mortgage Professional
A bipartisan coalition of U.S. Senators has introduced legislation aimed at addressing the practice of mortgage trigger leads, sparking a renewed debate over
their impact on consumers and the mortgage industry.
Lenders group seeks federal reprieve from commission-sharing shift
TONY CANTU, Mortgage Professional America
The Community Home Lenders of America on Thursday sent a letter to federal housing agencies expressing concern over the impact of litigation
targeting real estate agent commissions, claiming a likely detriment on mortgage lending to underserved borrowers. The letter
focuses on Sitzer/Burnett v. NAR – one of several lawsuits challenging the long-held practice of commission-sharing by National
Association of Realtors members. Along with HomeServices of America and Keller Williams Realty, NAR in October was found liable in the federal
trial challenging MLS rules and the real estate compensation model.
PROPERTY NEWS
One Night in a 1950s Motor Lodge Turned Los Angeles Hot Spot
KATE DRIES, Dwell
The recently opened Palihotel Hollywood markets itself as having an Old Hollywood aesthetic. Would staying there feel iconic and retro, or
cloying and kitschy?
