Brokers who watch the jobs numbers along with the LFP rate will find the trends useful for forecasting their future brokerage conditions
Real estate runs with the labor force participation rate
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Real Estate Principles
Prepare for the most critical issues you’ll encounter in your first years of practice.
Stay current on the latest news, videos, forms, and updates for Real Estate Principles.
Recent updates to the course e-book
- Effective January 1st, 2021, California homeowners qualify for a net equity homestead protection of up to $300,000 or the median sale price for a single family residence (SFR) in the homeowner’s county in the calendar year prior to the year in which they claim the exemption, not to exceed $600,000 (adjusted annually for inflation). [CCP §704.730] For more on this topic, see Form-of-the-Week: Homestead exemption, an asset preservation declaration – Form 465
06/25: The 2025 rules for buyer representation and fee-splitting avoidance are currently being edited into this e-book.
Newly published related content
California tiered home pricing
Home prices continued to slide across California in November 2025.
Trending mortgage rates
Where are mortgage rates now? Check out our weekly interest rate update to track the latest market rates.
Jobs move real estate
Track the single most influential factor on California’s real estate market: the number of people employed.
Low ARM rates fuel unacceptable mortgage risks
The average ARM rate remains below the FRM rate, enticing potential homebuyers unaware of its history.
California residential construction starts
Multi-family and SFR construction continue to lag behind demand for new housing.
Mortgage complaint trends
Compliance doesn’t prevent all consumer complaints, but it goes a long way toward happier customers and borrowers — and better business for MLOs.
DRE Bulletin Digest: Winter 2026
The Winter 2026 Real Estate Bulletin lays out the California Department of Real Estate’s expectations for ethical conduct by its licensees in the age of ARMs, digital brokerages, and AI.
Form-of-the-Week: Credit report disclosure forms for originating an SFR mortgage — Forms 302, 217, 217-1, 217-2 and 219
A mortgage loan originator (MLO) processing an SFR mortgage application pulls a credit report, advises the applicant of the credit agency’s score and any derogatory financial information which suggests adverse action on the application. Critical to approval, the applicant provides the MLO with explanations for the derogatory items so the MLO can process the application.