Blog - CCARToday - Contra Costa Association of REALTORS

Weekly Jolt – 091526

CONTRA COSTA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^®

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER | SEPTEMBER 15, 2026

Top News

• Risk Management Seminar Next Wednesday
• Oktoberfest Affiliate Faire – Oct. 7
• The BIG Event – Oct. 28
• West County Marketing Meeting This Thu.
• Conquering Social Media & AI – Sep. 22
• REALTOR® Safety Webinar – Tactical Awareness – Sep 23
• REALTOR® Relief Foundation Celebrates 25 Years
• Make an Impact with CCAR Committees

MLS Updates

• CA’s 2026 Ballot: What’s at Stake for Homeownership &
Affordability
• REALTOR ® Optimized Laptops For Sale

All laptops purchased through CCAR include a 2-year warranty, data transfer, and Real Estate setup.

+ Upcoming Education
+ REALTOR^® ACTION FUND (RAF)
+ CCAR CALENDAR

West County Marketing Meeting – This Thu.

Join us for the CCAR West Marketing Meeting this Thu, Sep. 17, from 8:45–10:00am, at 500 Alfred Nobel Drive, Suite 265, Hercules.

Guest speaker Jennifer Rizzo, Vice President of Public Affairs for the California Apartment Association, will discuss Measure S and the proposed rent control in San Pablo, including what it could mean for property owners, landlords, and tenants.

Enjoy complimentary breakfast burritos, fresh fruit, and beverages while connecting with fellow REALTORS® and affiliates, sharing upcoming listings, and learning something new. It’s a great way to start the morning with colleagues.

Conquering Social Media & AI – Sep. 22

Strengthen your marketing with Conquering Social Media & AI! Join us on Zoom Tue., Sep. 22, from 1–2pm for practical ways to generate referrals and repeat business, build stronger client relationships, and stand out online.

Explore ChatGPT and other AI tools, social media best practices, video marketing, Facebook ads, SEO, blogging, Stories, and Reels, with strategies you can put to work right away.
REGISTER HERE >>

Your Best Asset Is Your Life: REALTOR®
Safety Webinar – Sep. 23

In real estate, your best asset isn’t your listing—it’s your life. CCAR, in collaboration with Bay East Association of REALTORS®, invites you to a one-hour safety webinar Wed., Sep. 23, from 11am–noon via Zoom.

Led by Maurice Taylor, retired Army Master Sergeant and real estate industry leader, Tactical Awareness for Real Estate Professionals goes beyond basic safety tips to help you recognize warning signs of predatory behavior, stay alert during showings, and develop safety protocols to protect yourself and your clients. The focus is on recognizing risks early and helping prevent dangerous situations before they escalate.
REGISTER HERE >>

Protect Your Business:
Risk Management Seminar – Next Wednesday

Join us Wednesday, September 23, for a Risk Management Seminar via Zoom. Get a closer look at the legal issues affecting REALTORS® and practical guidance to help you avoid costly mistakes.

Real estate attorney Shannon B. Jones will share insights from her practice, including the types of claims her office is seeing most often and what REALTORS® can learn from them. Topics will include:

Emerging liabilities and recent case trends that could affect your transactions.
Common claims and disputes REALTORS® are facing—and where problems tend to arise.
Practical steps to reduce your risk and help protect yourself, your clients, and your business.

You’ll also hear important updates from CCAR staff and leadership to keep you informed about issues affecting your membership and the profession.

Set aside the morning for information you can put to work in your day-to-day business.
Free for CCAR members · $35 for non-members

REGISTER TODAY! >>

Oktoberfest Affiliate Faire – Oct. 7

CCAR REALTOR® Members: Join us for an evening of appetizers, drinks, raffles, and fun at St Stephen Church on Oct. 7, from 5pm – 7pm! Discover the wide range of services offered by local industry partners while supporting two amazing causes—the CCAR Scholarship Foundation and CCAR Helping Hands.

CCAR Affiliates: The Oktoberfest Affiliate Faire offers a fantastic opportunity to showcase your business to CCAR REALTORS®. Think of it as a trade show, but more fun– and it’s all for a great cause! Purchase a vendor table for $35 by contacting Jason Catalano at 925.295.9202 or [email protected].

REGISTER FOR FREE TICKETS >>

The BIG Event Membership Meeting – Oct. 28

CCAR Members are invited to a free, exclusive 2027 Economic Forecast and Legal Update featuring two leading industry experts.

Dr. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for NAR, will share his outlook for the 2027 economy and housing market, including key trends affecting housing supply and real estate. Neil Kalin, Assistant General Counsel for C.A.R., will also provide a timely legal update covering important issues REALTORS® need to know.

CCAR Members only—advance registration required. Complimentary light breakfast will be served.

REGISTER HERE >>

Broker.1.5 – Sep 2026

SEPTEMBER 2026

| August 2026 Market Stats |

| REGISTER FOR RISK MANAGEMENT SEMINAR SEP 23 > |

| NAR Broker Guidance Tips |

Don’t Wait Till Escrow to Discover Insurance Problem

Agents don’t need to become insurance experts, but they do need to know when to raise the issue. California’s insurance market remains complicated enough that insurability can affect a real estate transaction.

The California Department of Insurance advises consumers who cannot obtain residential insurance to conduct a diligent search in the traditional market before turning to the CA FAIR Plan, which it describes as the insurer of last resort.

CDI also makes an important distinction agents should understand: The FAIR Plan is not equivalent to a standard homeowners policy. Basic FAIR Plan coverage is limited, and consumers may need a separate Difference in Conditions policy to address gaps such as theft or liability coverage.

California continues to reform the broader insurance market, including efforts intended to increase coverage availability in wildfire-distressed areas and reduce reliance on the FAIR Plan. But those reforms do not eliminate the need for transaction-level planning. | CA INSURANCE UPDATES >

AI Has Changed What Transaction Fraud Looks Like

Real estate wire fraud is becoming harder to detect. NAR reports that the FBI received more than 12,000 real estate-related cybercrime complaints in 2025, totaling approximately $275 million in losses. Generative AI now allows criminals to clone voices, adding another layer to spoofed phone numbers, emails and transaction communications. A familiar voice or contact is no longer sufficient verification.

NAR recommends that brokerages establish stronger verification procedures and educate clients about wire fraud early in the transaction. Changed financial instructions should be confirmed using independently known contact information—not the phone number, email or other contact information provided in the message requesting the change. | MORE >

Are Buyers Becoming More Selective?

Contra Costa County remains a seller’s market, but August’s numbers show a market with noticeably less urgency than earlier this year. Closed sales fell 6.2% to 783. The median sold price declined 1.9% to $790,000. Median days on market rose 23.5% to 21 days, while the sold-to-list ratio slipped to 100.64%. At the same time, 810 listings went pending, up 2.4% from July.

Those figures do not, by themselves, prove why buyers are behaving differently. What they do show is a market in which homes are taking longer to sell, fewer transactions are closing, and yet buyers are still putting properties under contract.

NAR recommends that agents look beyond closed comparable sales when counseling sellers. Its pricing guidance specifically advises watching pending sales, competing inventory, price histories and days on market because pending transactions provide a more current indication of what buyers are acting on than closed sales alone. That recommendation is especially relevant in Contra Costa today because August closed sales declined while pending activity increased.

NAR’s 2026 broker guidance recommends that brokers equip agents with timely local data and actionable talking points to guide client decisions. For sellers, that means pricing against current competition and establishing a plan for reassessment; for buyers, it means recognizing that longer market times may create negotiating opportunities without assuming a property has a problem.

AUGUST 2026 | MONTHLY MARKET rECAP

Contra Costa’s August housing market continued to cool, with fewer new listings and closed sales, lower prices, and homes taking longer to sell. At the same time, pending activity edged higher, suggesting buyer demand has not disappeared but is moving more cautiously through the market. The county remains a seller’s market, with 2.71 months of inventory, but conditions are becoming less competitive.

New Listings: 1,258 ( ▼ 5.7% MoM )
Sales: 783 ( ▼ 6.2% MoM)
Speed of sales: 21 DOM ( ▲ 23.5% MoM )

Median sold price: $790,000 ( ▼1.9% MoM )
Sold-to-list price ratio: 100.64% ( ▼ 0.6% MoM )
Pending Sales: 810 (▼ 2.4% MoM)

| VIEW + DOWNLOAD AUGUST 2026 MARKET REPORT >

QUICK LINKS

CCAR ANNUAL SPONSORS

District 4 Stokley – Sep 26

Can AI Make Real Estate Safer?

Do You Know Who You’re Meeting?

A new client calls and asks to see a property. Within an hour, you may be standing alone in a vacant house with someone you’ve never met.

Technology can add another layer of protection before that meeting ever takes place. Identity-verification tools such as FOREWARN can help you verify information about a prospective client and identify inconsistencies or potential warning signs before meeting face-to-face.

NAR also lists SafeShowings among its safety resources, while SentriLock’s SentriKey app includes an Agent Safety feature that can check in with an agent during a showing and alert designated emergency contacts if the agent doesn’t respond.

Don’t Be Fooled By Phone Calls, Text, Email

In June, the DRE warned that scammers were calling consumers and real estate licensees while pretending to be DRE employees. Calls may concern a transaction or supposed commission dispute, with the caller creating urgency and pushing the recipient to respond quickly.

There’s one fact worth remembering: DRE says its initial contact about a matter of concern will come by LETTER, not by phone, text or email.

An unexpected caller who knows something about your business can sound convincing. Don’t let familiarity with the details substitute for verification.

| WATCH VIDEO FROM ABC NEWS >

She Was Showing a Home to a Client She Already Knew

Janice Tisdale wasn’t meeting a complete stranger. She had shown the prospective buyer several homes before agreeing to meet him at a vacant $750,000 property. But when she arrived, something felt wrong. What happened next nearly cost Tisdale her life—and became the experience she now uses to teach other real estate professionals about safety

Experience can make an unfamiliar situation feel routine. It doesn’t necessarily make it safer.

No appointment, commission or client relationship is worth ignoring the instinct that tells you something isn’t right.

CCAR ANNUAL SPONSORS

District 4 Wilson – Sep 26

Can AI Make Real Estate Safer?

Do You Know Who You’re Meeting?

A new client calls and asks to see a property. Within an hour, you may be standing alone in a vacant house with someone you’ve never met.

Don’t Be Fooled By Phone Calls, Text, Email

There’s one fact worth remembering: DRE says its initial contact about a matter of concern will come by LETTER, not by phone, text or email.

An unexpected caller who knows something about your business can sound convincing. Don’t let familiarity with the details substitute for verification.

| WATCH VIDEO FROM ABC NEWS >

She Was Showing a Home to a Client She Already Knew

Experience can make an unfamiliar situation feel routine. It doesn’t necessarily make it safer.

No appointment, commission or client relationship is worth ignoring the instinct that tells you something isn’t right.

CCAR ANNUAL SPONSORS

District 3 Ramirez – Sep 26

Can AI Make Real Estate Safer?

Do You Know Who You’re Meeting?

A new client calls and asks to see a property. Within an hour, you may be standing alone in a vacant house with someone you’ve never met.

Don’t Be Fooled By Phone Calls, Text, Email

There’s one fact worth remembering: DRE says its initial contact about a matter of concern will come by LETTER, not by phone, text or email.

An unexpected caller who knows something about your business can sound convincing. Don’t let familiarity with the details substitute for verification.