Housing Reporter

Kate Talerico

Kate Talerico is a Bay Area News Group reporter covering housing for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. Before that, she covered growth and development at the Idaho Statesman, and lived in France for two years, teaching English to high school students. Kate graduated from Brown University with a BA degree in urban studies. She can talk for hours about urban planning, architecture, and design — and don't get her started on parking.

Aldo Quintero, left, helps his daughter Isabella, 10, with an art project as his son Mateo, 13, and wife Lisa look on at their home in San Mateo, Calif., on Monday, April 7, 2025. Quintero is an employee of San Mateo County who was able to use the county’s help to afford a down payment on a home. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Forget stock options. Some employers are handing out down payments

October 15, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.

With million-dollar homes out of reach for most middle-income families, some Bay Area employers are experimenting with down payment assistance

Paul and Ruby Callary speak with their realtor Mark Wong, left, before an open house Sunday morning, April 3, 2016, at their home of 27 years in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

How to negotiate commissions with your real estate agent

September 24, 2025 at 8:30 p.m.

Here's how to make sure the fee you're paying is competitive.

Eric Itakura stands at his home in Los Gatos, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

A big Realtors settlement could have led to lower agent commissions. They haven’t changed

September 24, 2025 at 8:21 p.m.

A year later, commissions have barely budged.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, center, arrives at Fort Baker after visiting Alcatraz Island, Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Sausalito, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

AG Bondi, Interior Secretary Burgum tour Alcatraz to advance Trump’s plans to reopen former prison

July 17, 2025 at 5:05 p.m.

President Trump floated the idea to convert Alcatraz back into a high-security federal prison for violent offenders.

Sellers’ agents wanting to market homes on Zillow’s sites must follow a new standard requiring the listings be available widely, according to a Zillow statement April 10. If a for-sale home is online and hasn’t been posted to a multiple-listing service within 24 hours, that listing will be banned from Zillow. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Zillow says it’s fighting for buyers. Compass says it’s fighting for sellers. What if neither is fighting for you?

June 17, 2025 at 11:20 p.m.

Real estate giants' power struggle could change how homes are sold.

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 05: (L-R) Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg attend the 11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at Barker Hangar on April 05, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize)

Mark Zuckerberg’s charity quietly cuts funding for affordable housing, homelessness groups

May 3, 2025 at 1:12 p.m.

Many California housing organizations were caught up in a push to end 'social advocacy' grants.

A drone view of a housing development near Positano Hills Park extends into the hills in Dublin, Calif., on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. Dublin is now California’s fastest growing city, according to U.S. Census data. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

Mortgage rates hit lowest rate since August

December 15, 2023 at 2:01 p.m.

As borrowing costs drop, real estate experts predict home prices and sales will pick up.