Uncategorized Archives - CCARToday - Contra Costa Association of REALTORS

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.

| 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 Wade – 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.